From The Ashes SYOC
by Wandering Letters
Summary: Join another group of adventurers as they try to make it in the harsh world of Grimgar. SYOC guidelines are inside. Read the chapter to find out how you can be a part of it! Rated T but may be M due to the likelihood of violent, potentially disturbing and mature content. Completely OC driven, but may have main characters make cameo appearances. ON HIATUS.
1. Guidelines

**Hello everyone!**

 **Wandering Letters here announcing something I think I've wanted to do for a little while.**

 **I'm a sucker for emotional anime and obviously, Grimgar Of Fantasy And Ash was no exception to this.**

 **I absolutely adored how emotional the series was so I figured that I'd give this idea a shot, if any of you guys are up for it that is!**

* * *

 **I'm here to kind of offer the same kind of story that I've done in the past. I highly doubt there's anyone here who's ever read my work before but I'm a major fan of the sign up story format. What this means is that I'll write a story using original characters that you guys create! But then you may ask, how does this work?**

 **It's simple really.**

 **I'll go ahead and leave a template of what I'd say is a good estimate of all we'd need to get a good basis of the characters. In the interest of making things more fun, I'll go ahead and allow you all to submit classes in addition to your characters. Feel free to use the same classes as mentioned in the anime, but you can try and get creative as well because the anime was basically the tip of the iceberg considering we had things like Dark Knights and Priests.**

 **Name:** _Pretty self explanatory. Feel free to come up with a middle and last name if you'd like._

 **Sex:** _Self explanatory._ **  
**  
 **Age:** _In the spirit of things, let's keep it as teenagers just like the anime. The maximum age I will allow is about 21._  
 **  
Intended Class:** _Go ahead and invent a class if you'd like. Feel free to use the existing ones as well._  
 **  
Personality:** _Fill in as much as you can here because it will help with my portrayal of your character. Seeing as we can't have a background (at least prior to arriving in Grimgar) section, it's more important than ever to have this filled up._  
 **  
Appearance:** _Get as detailed as you'd like with this. For the love of god however, do not make up something boring and plain. Get inventive!_  
 **  
Aspirations:** _Is there an ultimate goal your character wants to accomplish? Perhaps become famous, maybe they want to take care of their friends. The choice is yours!_  
 **  
Likes:** _The littler things in life that makes your character happy. Food? Activities? Books to read? You get the picture._  
 **  
Dislikes:** _The opposite of the above._  
 **  
Skills:** _If you've watched the anime and read the novel, you know that this section is pretty wide. In the interest of not creating someone incredibly overpowered (because we all know that Grimgar is not at ALL about the overpowered characters), let's try and keep these to a very limited use per skill. Obviously, new ones can be acquired during the course of the story but for now, let's keep it simple._

 _Haruhiro for example had a skill as simple as **Hit** , which is what he used to knock enemies off balance. It worked better while he was attacking from behind or in stealth but you get the point: it's simple and has a clear and definite use._

 _Seeing as we're starting off with a brand new party, if the party gets full, we can do a timeskip to determine their classes and skills. For now, just put some ideas rather than defining them right here._

 **Relationships:** _This can be determined a bit later on but keep this all in mind. This setting is all about the character relationships so as a result, this will likely form the most integral part of the story. You can fill this in once we actually acquire the entirety of the cast but bear it in mind. It would be best to have a small section on everyone that gets selected. Any special relationships can be sorted out on a case by case basis. Just keep this part in mind!_

* * *

 **After doing some reading up into the finer details, I found every single class that we know of in Grimgar. This is meant for those who are not as deep into the lore as some of us. If you're aware of all the classes and jobs, feel free to skip this section.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Warrior's Guild**

 _"A fine line exists between a fighter and a warrior. One is motivated by reason, the other by purpose. One fights to live while while the other lives to fight"_

 **Warriors as you can imagine form the fundamental backbone of any party in the world of Grimgar. They function as tanks who draw the aggression from enemies who are a threat to the party, especially for the more vulnerable members such as Priests and Mages who can't risk close combat. This is one of the classes that is considered to be an absolute necessity: no party can function without a warrior.**

 **The typical warrior wears heavy armor, wields heavy weapons and specializes in strength and endurance.**

 **To keep things in character and in class, all warriors must wear heavy armor. However, you can choose to use a sword and shield or a two handed weapon; it's pretty unrealistic to me to see a tank use a giant mace or sword instead of using a sword and shield sometimes.**

 **The choice is yours!**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Mage's Guild**

 _"Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen."_

 **The most prominent magic profession in the world of Grimgar. Mages function as both supports and offensive members depending on what they choose to focus their training on. A mage draws diagrams in the air which releases their magic spells. Depending on how skilled they are, they can cast these spells quickly and with greater potency. Casting a lot of spells however will drain their energy and stamina quickly.**

 **Mages typically carry a staff into battle which helps them to focus their energy and as a last resort to defend themselves should an enemy get past their friends. As a result, all mages stay in the most protected area or far in the back which gives them ample time to cast all of their spells.**

 **They wear robes and wield a staff and most wear hats as well. However, this can be a little more open because they don't really seem to be required to wear the robes and such so for those who want a mage as their character, you have a lot more wiggle room in designing their appearance.**

 **Get creative!**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Priest's Guild**

 _"A healer is someone who seeks to be the light that she wishes she had in her darkest moments"_

 **The Priest is the premier healing class in Grimgar and is considered the second job that no party can be without. Their primary purpose is to heal the injuries of their party members. Like mages, Priests take time to cast their spells but unlike mages, they must chant a prayer in the exact words they are taught, else the spell will not work. Like mages, their prayers drain their energy and stamina. To counteract this weakness, experienced priests will only heal major injuries and leave minor ones to be done later when the group is safely out of a jam.**

 **Priests are seen wielding staffs and wearing robes. Unlike mages as well, Priests also have a few close combat skills which makes them not as defenseless as their pure spellcasting friends. However, this does not mean that they should be out on the frontlines (we all can't be Mary obviously).**

 **You have a lot of room to design appearances in this class as well but to keep it in character, lets limit it to staves and robes (unless you've got a creative idea, in which case feel free to share!)**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Hunter's Guild**

 _"To hunt successfully, you must know your ground, your pack and your quarry"_

 **The Hunter serves as the survivalist of the group. They typically wield a bow and specialize in applying pressure to enemies to give their teammates an edge in battle. All hunters are considered useful due to their ability to track as well as their survival skills overall, such as pointing out edible plants and improvising herbal remedies based on their knowledge of the land.**

 **Hunters are typically seen wearing leather armor and almost always are equipped with bows. They also have skills with the bow as well as evasion skills on hand in order to get out of sticky situations. They are a very agile class but obviously, can't take a beating very well in addition to not being the best at melee combat. However, Hunters can acquire a wolf companion, which they must care for and nurture themselves as it is part of the taming process. They buy their companion from their guild.**

 **For anyone who wants to choose this class, keep a couple of facts in mind:**

 **Hunters worship the Goddess, Eldritch. Eldritch takes the form of a giant wolf and is said to be a benevolent goddess.**

 **Hunters dislike the Black God, Rigel, who is also a giant wolf due to the fact that Rigel and Eldritch have bad blood between them.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Dread Knight's Guild**

 _"You think darkness is your ally? You've merely adopted it"_

 **The Dread Knight plays a similar role to the Warrior. Unlike them however, they prefer medium armor and weapons and typically take an offensive role, attacking when they deem it best and then staying out of range of all other attacks until an opening presents itself again.**

 **The Dread Knight worships the Ruler Of Death, Skulhei and unlike other guilds, you cannot join this guild and then leave. Once you're a part of it, you're with it for the rest of your life.**

 **Dread Knights also typically allow themselves to be possessed by their own personal demons, which grow in strength according to the Dread Knight's skill.**

 **Choosing this class means you can go ahead and create a demon in addition to your character!**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Thief's Guild**

 _"A thief is a thief. No matter what he steals, whether it be an acorn or a diamond"_

 **The quintessential rogue class of Grimgar. Thieves specialize in fast movements as well as ambushing enemies as opposed to fighting them head on. A thief is considered useful due to their ability to remain undetected, making them excellent scouts as well as assassins due to their large selection of skills meant to take advantage of being undetected.**

 **The thief typically wields daggers and wears medium armor. Thieves however do not really follow a strict code or guideline like most guilds. They only follow a few rules, which is mostly concerning honor rather than actual rules.**

 **They are not allowed to operate in the same area as another Thief (unless given consent).**

 **They must never steal from their fellow guildmates.**

 **Designing a thief doesn't really have much limitations apart from what an actual rogue would realistically wear.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The following classes are mentioned and not too much is specified about them, so I'll improvise where I can:**

 **The Samurai**

 _"Accepting one's own strength, and the strength of others, is an important quality of a swordsman"_

 **The Samurai stands as a more offensive version of the warrior. Unlike them, they do not wear very heavy armor and often choose to wear thicker leather or even just robes. The samurai's weapon of choice is the katana, though some are known to wield wakizashis in favor of a faster style of swordplay.**

 **Samurai swear the oath of Bushido and dedicate themselves to serving their guild and their party. They are trained to be warriors capable of handling most situations on their own but are also taught the values of teamwork and dedication. A samurai will primarily be the one inflicting damage or protecting other vulnerable members of the party should the need arise and the warrior is unable to do so themselves.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Paladin**

 _"A warrior is mighty with his own strength and endurance. A paladin is even mightier with the power of light."_

 **The Paladin is considered another viable substitute for a warrior should a party be unable to acquire one. They are not as proficient as warriors as they rely on their ability to cast light magic to supplement their inherently weaker physical prowess in comparison to their warrior counterparts.**

 **A paladin is not as proficient a healer as a Priest is and as such, is not a replacement. They are however capable of healing minor wounds, which takes some pressure off of a party's Priest. They are more than capable of holding their own on the frontlines like a Warrior, but are not as physically capable which forces them to fill more of a secondary bruiser role as opposed to a main tank.**

 **Paladins wear heavy armor and usually wield a mace with a shield or a two handed mace.**

 **To keep things in a bit closer to lore, those who join the Paladin's guild must adhere to several rules.**

 **They must swear an oath to serve their guild unconditionally, which means their guild takes priority over their party.**

 **They must swear an oath of celibacy, unless they are marrying someone in which case, it can be overlooked.**

 **Paladins must also contribute part of their earnings to the guild as a tithe.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Necromancer**

 _"A man can be a formidable opponent. But he is prone to things such as hesitation and fear._

 _The undead however, have only one limitation: the moment their unlife fades."_

 **The necromancer is a mage that practices dark magic, particularly in the aspect of resurrection spells. There are very few necromancers in the world of Grimgar, so rare that they are often considered to be a job that no one takes.**

 **The necromancer suffers the same weaknesses as any mage but has an added one: their control. A necromancer focuses on manipulating undead minions to fight battles but due to the unstable nature of death magic, the undead must be kept in control by the necromancer, else they will turn on the party and also their master.**

 **Necromancers worship the same god as Dread Knights and like them, they cannot leave their guild one they join. They are however allowed a lot more freedom than Dread Knights and often times, strike out on their own, returning to the guild primarily to learn new spells and also to practice in a place where death magic isn't frowned upon.**

 **Necromancers typically wear robes and wield staves like mages. Some do not use a staff and use only their hands.**

 **Maintaining undead minions drains the energy and stamina of a necromancer and as a result, it is not a class that is meant for long drawn out battles unless the caster is very skilled.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Shaman**

 _"Ancestral spirits are sources of great wisdom. It takes a special gift to understand their ways"_

 **The shaman is a class that primarily focuses on supporting the party with magic. They are often times found in the back of the battle, casting spells that enhance their teammates and some are even capable of a limited degree of healing.**

 **They are not as proficient as Priests when it comes to healing and as a result, should not be considered an alternative. If presented with a combat situation, shamans can defend themselves with their staves but are not proficient enough to stand and fight for long.**

 **Most Shaman magic comes from nature spirits and some shamans also channel their magic through totems which they receive from their guild upon completing their initial training. A shaman can specialize in nature, air or earth magic and must have specific totems to cast different schools of magic. Shamans also have the ability to shapeshift into a spirit animal at will. The spirit animal is determined by the spirits the shaman interacts with most, which can be a wolf, an owl or a panther.**

 **Shamans are required to attend all guild meetings as it is a time for them to communicate with the spirits they call upon in a non-combat manner. Shamans are also required to share any knowledge they have acquired with their guild in order for other shamans to aware of anything going on in the spirit realm. The shaman's trainer is also spiritually bound to his/her students, which allows them to sense their presence as well as communicate with them within a set distance through the spirit realm.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Knight**

 _"A stalwart defender. A courageous leader. A voice to guide the unwise."_

 **The knight is the only other class that is considered the true alternative to a warrior for a main tank. Unlike warriors, knights have to swear oaths to their guild and live a much stricter lifestyle.**

 **Knights and warriors wield the same equipment though knights often times are seen wearing capes and the crest of their guild on their armor. Most of a knight's equipment comes from his guild, which he must buy just like a warrior would in the market. Knights also have a ranking system unlike most other guilds. Higher rankings entitles them to new perks, such as cheaper equipment and the ability to travel with the guild on missions. Most lower ranked knights spend their time making a name for themselves by accomplishing feats, such as slaying a certain number of monsters or successfully leading runs to a dungeon.**

 **All knights are required to recite their guild mandate every time they enter the guild house and all knights must report to the guild whenever they are summoned, else they will get sanctioned and must work a certain number of hours serving the guild in order to remove it. Finally, knights are not allowed to leave their guild once they have sworn their oaths.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Sword Dancer**

 _"A sword is a weapon to most. To a sword dancer, it is the greatest form of art and expression,"_

 **The sword dancer takes a similar role to the Samurai in a party. Unlike samurai however, sword dancers focus on agile swordplay and are often seen dual wielding swords or focusing on a particular type of sword, most often a rapier.**

 **The sword dancer is focused on using speed and skill to overcome their opponents and wear light armor in order to be as fleet-footed as possible. Skilled sword dancers are capable of executing almost inhuman techniques with their weapons, often described as superhuman.**

 **The sword dancer, unlike other classes, do not have a true guild but instead, learn from a small group of masters. A sword dancer's initial training with a master is designed to train their speed and flexibility and as a final trial to allow them to go into parties, they must be able to defeat at least two goblins simultaneously. As a result, a sword dancer's training is among the most brutal and some have even crippled themselves. Those who survive however are ranked as some of the finest swordsmen in all of Grimgar.**

 **~ o ~**

 **The Archer**

 _"The joy is great of him who strays. In shady woods on summer days_

 _With eyes alert and muscles steady, his bow strung, his arrows ready"_

 _\- Maurice Thompson, Witchery Of Archery_

 **The main distinction between a hunter and an archer is that the archer forgoes the training in tracking and survival and instead, focuses solely on mastery of the bow. Those who wish to become an archer must spend a long time training with a bow before they are allowed to specialize in one of two types: the longbow or the shortbow.**

 **Archers are considered better marksmen than Hunters and have skills dedicated to keeping their distance as well as ensuring that their arrows find their mark. The archer is an agile class that is great at applying pressure to enemies and even capable of assassinating them with a well placed shot.**

 **To become an archer, one must join the Ranger's Guild, which is a joint guild that has retired Hunters helping to run it. In this guild, an archer is taught how to fletch their own arrows in addition to stringing and maintaining a bow. After completing that training, archers are put through vigorous marksmanship training and no archer is considered ready to join a party unless he/she is able to make a kill with their bow.**

 **Archers wear light armor and are not at all equipped to fight in close quarters unlike a Hunter who can at least defend themselves with certain skills. As a result, they rely on the warrior in their party to keep the attention of their enemies while they rain arrows from afar.**

 **The only requirement for an archer is that he/she is not allowed to learn how to use a melee weapon; it is considered an insult to their way of life to do so.**

 **...**

 **If you wish to create any of the above classes, this will be handled on a case by case basis so feel free to PM if you want to bounce your ideas off of me.**

* * *

 **5/31/2016**

 **The main cast has been decided. Rest assured however that character deaths may be a thing and your character may yet make an appearance, perhaps as a replacement or maybe just appearing in an arc or two. The cast I have chosen is listed below in the very template I issued before. If you'd like to have a character appear, follow the examples that these users have set:**

* * *

 **Takashi Yun (Samurai)**

 **Name:** Takashi Yun **  
Age:** 18 **  
Sex:** Male **  
Class:** Samurai

 **Personality:**

Calm, determined and serious. Takashi rarely takes situations likely and is usually the one who doesn't take any sort of nonsense unless in the proper mood. Despite how serious he usually is, he is very kind and will look after the members of his party. He firmly believes that everything can be overcome with effort and courage and one of his most prominent traits is his unbreakable willpower. No matter what happens, he will not give up.

 **Appearance:** Long black hair kept in a loose ponytail with bangs hanging in front. Stands at 5' 8" and weighs 135 pounds. Is not very muscular but has definite tone. He is usually seen wearing the traditional samurai garb, which is either combat armor comprised of chainmail with thick, hard leather plates or his usual samurai robes. He often times chooses the robes due to how heavy the armor is. His robes are black with red markings decorating most of the torso.

 **Aspirations:** Takashi's ultimate goal is to live a comfortable life in the world of Grimgar. At first, it was to ensure the survival of his friends but once the disaster happened, he resolved to never make those mistakes again and now seeks to become as great a warrior as possible in order to protect his friends.

 **Likes:**

\- Spicy Food.  
\- Reading.  
\- Meditating.  
\- Swimming.  
\- Playing Chess.  
\- Training (both exercising and with his sword).

 **Dislikes:**

\- Weakness.  
\- Inconsiderate people.  
\- Excessively sweet food.  
\- Arguments.  
\- Wasting time.  
\- Unreasonable people.

 **Skills:** Takashi's training was different than most Samurai. He chose not to be trained in how to wear the combat armor that most Samurai donned in battle and instead focused on a more agile style. He is the only Samurai apart from his master who practices Zattoichi style swordplay, which is the style of wielding the blade with a single hand in a reverse grip. He chose to learn this style because of how difficult it is and if he can master it, any other style will come naturally to him. Takashi is considered to be one of the fastest in battojutsu techniques, something very uncommon among the ranks of the Samurai due to how difficult the techniques can be. However, Takashi is not very durable and as such, relies on his speed to win his battles.

 **Panther Fang:** A battojutsu technique. The skill takes advantage of the added momentum achieved when drawing the blade from its sheath. It is an attack that is meant to catch the opponent off guard and is executed with such speed and force, it often destroys weaker materials such as wood. This skill requires great practice and is considered an intermediate skill for a Samurai.

 **Tiger Sweep:** Another battojutsu technique. This attack uses great speed to strike vital areas in as little time as possible. It is considered very difficult for a Samurai to pull this move off with great accuracy. It is considered an intermediate skill and is a move that Takashi has yet to master.

 **Shatterfang:** Takashi's most powerful battojutsu technique and Master Hwei's unique technique. This technique requires precise timing and great speed to execute. The technique is powerful enough to completely slice through most enemies. However, it is an extremely difficult technique to perform with self-injury and as such, Takashi only uses it as a last resort. Considered an advanced technique.

 **Sword Flurry:** A swift barrage of katana strikes which is meant to overwhelm the opponent and put them off balance. Considered to be a staple skill that all Samurai are taught at the start of their training. No Samurai is considered ready to be in a party unless he has mastered this move. Due to his swordplay style, Takashi was forced to learn a much more advanced version of this skill to accommodate his reverse grip style. Considered to be a beginner's skill to learn but a difficult one to completely master due to the speed the attack must be executed.

* * *

 **Masha Bobrov (Bard) [Submitted by Cyberweasel89]**

 **Name** : Masha Bobrov  
 **Sex** : Female  
 **Age** : 17

 **Intended Class** : Bard. Bards are one of the least popular classes in Grimgar because they have little combat ability and instead focus on helping allies with support. Bards cast their magic by playing musical instruments, singing, or dancing, with most of their magic focusing on buffing allies or debuffing enemies (sometimes both, depending on the song). The Bard Guild teaches their bards how to sing, dance, play an instrument, act, and tell stories, and they are encouraged to help earn extra money for their parties through minstrel services. Bards typically carry a musical instrument (unless they prefer to sing or dance) and usually stick to flashy clothes or leather, usually tight for dancing or baggy for performing.

 **Personality** :

Masha is constantly rambunctious, upbeat, spunky, vivacious, and always tries to make every moment fun. She exudes overwhelming confidence and her energy seemingly knows no bounds, but her efforts to keep everything fun and high-energy often lead to her getting into trouble. She can usually get out of it with her charm and cunning. She largely dresses sexy to help distract others and keep her party happy, and is always willing to defuse a situation by teasing and flirting. She has no modesty and is even willing to flash to distract an enemy or offer the chance to touch her breasts as a bribe or reward.

Masha also has a nurturing side. She often insists on cooking and cleaning for her party since she feels her skills as a bard don't contribute enough. She also enjoys cuddling and often tries to give her party members hugs or offer the chance for them to share her bed with her. In an effort to keep things from getting too boring, she also likes to sneak up behind her party members and grope their breasts or crotches.

Like many people who suddenly found themselves in Grimgar, Masha tends to display habits she doesn't recognize. She will sometimes reach up to her hair and comment that she's going to need more hair relaxers soon, then she touches her long, straight locks she abruptly realizes she doesn't even know what hair relaxers are. She also tends to spout the phrase "Let's rock and roll!" when the party is about to do something or head out. She has no clue what it means, but says that it just "feel right" to say it.

Masha spent most of her time in the Bard Guild learning to cook, clean, and pouring over any and all information about the world and locales of Grimgar she could find, in addition to learning magic songs and how to play a lute, dance, sing, tell stories, and act. She notes that she's a very good liar thanks to her acting and storytelling lessons in the Bard Guild.

 **Appearance** :

Masha has very dark skin, dark brown like milk chocolate. Her raven hair is long, straight, and reaches down to her rear, though she likes to keep her bangs over her right eye because she thinks it makes her look more mysterious and cool. She stands at a tall 5'7" (170cm) and weighs 121lbs. (55kg). Her measurements are 34-22-34 (86-56-88) with E-cup breasts, which she's quite proud of, as at 17, they're still growing. Masha's eyes are hazel in color and she has rather elegant facial features for a girl with such a mischievous personality. Many note that if she didn't dress the way she did, she has the features to look quite classy.

Masha prefers to wear brown leather. Her top consists of two leather straps, one over each breast, which meet behind her neck. They attach to a leather strap circling the circumference of her torso, just under her breasts. For bottoms, she wears little more than a loin cloth that makes it quite obvious from the view of her thighs and hips that she has nothing under it. Her midriff and legs are bare, but she is sensible enough to wear sturdy brown leather boots that reach just under her knees and brown leather gloves. This outfit offers very little protection or "support," but she likes feeling sexy in it and says it helps distract enemies and keep her party's mood up. For when she really shouldn't draw attention to herself for practical reasons, she has a dark green hooded mantle that can fully cover her down to her knees.

For casual clothing when settling in for the night, Masha prefers to just not wear anything. When asked why she's so comfortable walking around naked, she replies that it's natural when you're a naturist, then pauses when she realizes she doesn't know what that is.

While she carries no weapon, Masha uses her magic with a wooden lute that she straps to her back with a leather strap when not playing it, but she also enjoys just carrying it as she walks for the aesthetic value, and so people know she's a bard. She likes to advertise her profession so that anyone who might want to hire her for a venue sees her.

 **Aspiration** :

Masha follows the creed of the Bard Guild. "As a bard, your only job is to raise everyone's spirits, even at the cost of your own." Masha plans to smile and laugh even when she's said and feels like crying. She wants to make people happy and give them hope, even when she's sad, afraid, angry, or depressed herself. She knows the world of Grimgar is a hard world to live in, so she wants to do anything she can to try and make lift everyone's mood, even if it means dressing like a stripper and acting like a total tease.

 **Likes** :  
-Being naked around people she trusts  
-Groping breasts  
-Groping crotches  
-Teasing  
-Music  
-Dancing  
-Singing  
-Acting  
-Making up and telling stories  
-Her figure  
-Cooking  
-Cleaning  
-Smiles  
-Making others happy  
-Raising spirits  
-Giving hope  
-Hugs  
-Cuddling

 **Dislikes** :  
-Showing weakness  
-Others crying  
-Her singing voice (she sticks to dancing and her lute)  
-Her hair (it doesn't seem right)  
-Being cold  
-Jiggling so much  
-People thinking she's a prostitute (it's not the reason she dresses and acts the way she does)

 **Skills** : Whereas Mages cast their magic by weaving symbols in the air and Priests cast theirs by saying prayers, Bards cast their magic by singing, dancing or playing songs on instruments. Masha prefers to play a lute, as she dislikes her own singing voice, but when silence is needed, she can dance instead to use her magic.

- **Inspirational Tune** : The simplest song in the Bard's repertoire, Inspirational Tune is an upbeat, cheerful song that encourages friends, allies, and comrades to do better at what they do, causing most of their Skills or attempts to be a bit more effective and likely to succeed.

- **Lullaby** : The most important song taught in the Bard Guild, Lullaby is a soothing melody that instills calmness and helps people sleep. It's often used to ensure no enemies attack the party. If monsters get close and hear the song, they usually don't have any desire to find the source and attack because their aggression fades, and it even helps allies fall asleep faster and easier.

- **Distraction Dance** : A defensive Skill all Bards are taught. Bards have little ability to fight since they focus so much on helping others. Distraction Dance is how they defend themselves. Using fluid movements much like dancing, a Bard flows around attacks like a blade of grass in the breeze rather than fighting against it. The flashy and graceful movements also serve to distract the enemy making the attack, making it harder for them to focus enough to use their full power or skill in the attack. Bards try to stay off the front lines, though, so it's mostly a last resort and not infallible.

(Later Skills)

- **Battle Theme** : A song in the Bard skillset that washes away the weariness of allies, fills them with courage, and encourages them to do their absolute best. The fast-paced, intense sound of it also fills enemies with doubt and fear. It's a powerful song, but Masha has yet to master it.

- **Holy Song** : Perhaps the most devastating song in the bard arsenal, Holy Song is a dramatic aria that is said to be able to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by filling allies with the most powerful of all things. Hope. Masha has yet to master it.

 **History:**

Since arriving in Grimgar, Masha spent the first week training with Old Gus in the Bard's Guild, learning how to play the lute, sing, dance, act, tell stories, and cast magic songs. She spent another week or so learning all she could about the world of Grimgar in any libraries she could find. The rest has been spent looking for a party, but sadly, no one wants a Bard given their limited usefulness. She's tried her best to make a living in the meantime by being a minstrel, but has found she'd had to rely quite a bit on Old Gus for a place to stay and meals. At this rate, she'll be eternally grateful to any party willing to accept her.

 **Relationships:**

 **Takashi Yun** : Masha thinks that Takashi is often too serious and enjoys trying to tease him to get a reaction. She'll often thank him for things by asking if he wants to touch her breasts and enjoys hugging him from behind and breathing on his ear or licking his neck, though she never goes as far as groping his crotch. She greatly fears him ever finding out she's not as confident as she appears and is just as afraid and vulnerable in this strange world as most others.

* * *

 **Erika (Mage) [Submitted by an anonymous reader]**

 **Name** : Erika

 **Sex** : Female

 **Age** : 18

 **Class** : Mage

 **Personality** :

Erika is a very peculiar person. She prefers her own solitude, but doesn't mind holding conversations with other persons provided she doesn't find them annoying. She also abhors most work and tends to be a slacker unless forced by the circumstances.

Erika treats all persons she meets equally: with vague disrespect. It's not about being a jerk or a lack of respect, but just that she sees all people in the same light, neither negatively nor positively. This, combined with her not really being a people's person results in her more or less jerkish demeanor to all people she meets, or even people she has known for long.

This can very well extend even to people of higher position, influence, or simply stronger than her. She's not an idiot though, and won't mindlessly provoke those that she knows would give her a hard time, but it becomes hard for her to hold back any sarcastic remarks or biting comebacks if the person is annoying enough to her. She also tends to like messing with people, at least people she likes.

Contrary to her personality, however, she has a deep fondness for music and writing. She is deftly proficient in a number of instruments. She even composes songs and writes short stories as a hobby when she has time.

Finally, Erika has some weird habits like all people that come to Grimgar. Whenever she feels something bad is gonna happen, she says ''Winter is coming'' in a snarky tone. Whenever she hears a comment that could be interpreted suggestively, she says ''That's what she/he said''. If her red hair flashes are pointed out, she'll annoyedly mutter that ''She shouldn't have chosen 8''. She also hates the number, probably tied to whatever incident caused her to put on the flashes. Another is that she tends to make references to ''EXP'' and ''Farming'' whenever she kills a strong looking enemy or just makes a massive mess for the enemies with her magic.

 **Appearance** :

Erika is a natural beauty. A refined face with a sharp look to it, like the secretary of the CEO of a multinational company, except for her fully black hair with red flashes that reaches her back and her amber eyes. She normally has a very neutral expression, but depending on her mood, it can become dyed in a combination of annoyance and a ''the devil may care'' expression, or her face can soften up and look genuinely at peace and content, though this is rare. Her expression itself really doesn't change that much, so it could be said she exudes an aura that is easy for people to catch.

Her body is also very glamorous, with her three sizes being 83-57-90, and standing relatively tall for a woman at 6'1'' (187cm), with a weight of 132lbs (59kg). Due to her personality however, she could careless about the attention her body attracts, and even actively tries to wear clothes that don't show her figure just to not have to deal with that, preferring long robes of varying, usually darker, colors that cover up to her knees when going out as a mage, and baggy clothes whenever she puts on something more casual to go out or just be comfortable. She went to the extent that she brought a featureless mask with engravings to put on her face since that drew enough attention by itself, mostly trolling anybody who asks how she can see by giving a very unbelievable and, sometimes, outright impossible explanation on how she does so, changing it each time she is asked. She can see fine though, just never bothers to tell anybody how.

She also couldn't care less about her overall appearance, so most of the time her hair is disheveled and she looks like she just crawled out of bed, with the worst of it being obvious when she has actually just crawled out of bed. She doesn't bother either when she goes to sleep, and she may go from fully clothed with no problems to only sleeping with her underwear.

 **Aspiration** :

None at the moment. With her ''live and let live'' personality, you could say she just wanders around. She does what she likes when she likes, but she would never tell her party this, since that would imply she actually enjoys their company and considers their adventuring outside a pleasant time. The only thing that could be considered a goal would be the completion of her ''Magnum Opus'' as she likes to call it, a book based on the world of Grimgar and her experiences and adventures there. She doesn't have much experience with writing longer stories, but she feels this world gives her the perfect inspiration to bring about the best piece of literature she could ever write. Because of that, she has a big deal of interest on the culture and story of Grimgar itself, even the monsters' culture too.

 **Likes** :

-Reading

-Music

-To compose new songs

-Taking care of her instruments

-Discussing about books

-Messing with people(that she likes)

-Writing

-Battling monsters(she's a bit of a Blood Knight...)

-Nighttime

-The red moon(she finds it peculiar)

-Eating

-Staying on her room

-Quiet places

-Beautiful scenaries

-People with a strong willpower

 **Dislikes** :

-Loud places

-People who diss reading

-People who dislike books

-People who mistreat books

-Annoying people

-Really energetic people, though more when they try to make her act as energetic

-Work

-Work

-Alcohol

-Idiots who act all tough while being all talk

-Idiots that try to act strong even though they are weak inside

-Sheeps

-Work

 **Skills:** As a Mage, Erika concentrates on pure damage with the use of fire. Even though her usual personality hides it, she has a certain love for explosions, massive damage and battles that you wouldn't expect from such a person. She is one of the few mages who chose to **only** learn fire spells; she likes it that damn much.

\- **Magic Missile** : The most basic spell all mages are taught, creating a ball of light about the size of a fist and with the power of a kick by a fully trained adult male Martial Artist. The simplicity and efficiency of the spell has made Erika to consider in buying more advanced versions of the spell.

\- **Sirocco** : A simplistic fire spell which sends a scorching gush of air in the desired direction. Erika loves to use these to attack the face of enemies, disorienting them through the sudden surge of hot air blasting into their faces and eyes.

\- **Kanongana** : Erika's ''most powerful'' spell, which turns the opponent's blood into flammable liquid and then sets it ablaze. The power of the spell is immense and it's single target effectiveness is through the roof, but there are certain drawbacks: 1)Erika needs to physically touch the opponent, though she can chant the spell and then get closer at her leisure, 2)The effect happens fast, but isn't instantaneous, so the enemy can attack in that window of time, 3)The spell is very draining, so it isn't a good idea to simply use it in on moobs or opponents that could be dealt with in easier ways.

\- **Fireball** : A ball of fire about the size of a usual Magic Missile is created at the tip of the staff and shoot forward. Rather than simply burning someone, it explodes with appreciable power and sets ablaze things in a relatively big area. This, however, makes so that it could also heavily damage allies, with only someone like a properly equipped Warrior or Knight being guaranteed to escape with, at best, minor injuries, making it a bad move except when used in the correct situations.

\- **Wall of Fire** : A defensive-fire spell. Creates a high wall of smoldering flames to deter possible enemies from getting near. Since the wall mostly blocks vision, Erika likes to use it to cast attack magic from behind while not letting the enemy see what she is exactly doing. She also tends to put on a shit-eating grin, completely unlike herself, whenever she sees a helpless enemy that can't pass the wall, so close yet so far away from her. The likeness of this exponentially rises if it happens with a monster that really got on her nerves.

Relationships:

* * *

 **Saki Hikari (Hunter) [Submitted by AltariaMotives]**

 **Name:** Saki Hikari

 **Sex:** Female

 **Age:** 14

 **Intended Class:** Hunter

 **Personality:  
**  
Shy and rather clumsy and scared-looking, Saki comes off as very timid and weak person who isn't quite sure what she's doing with anything. Despite that, she's kind and selfless and quickly forms connections with others. Truth be told, that's all there really is to her (at least, upon reaching Grimgar and in her first few outings). She's weak and overly cautious, incapable of taking risks and she feels useless. Despite that, she has a burning desire to become useful and to really be a hero of sorts. She's childish in the sense that she has an incredibly idealistic goal, and yet she's determined to grow stronger and be able to protect her friends. She goes to great lengths to grow stronger. She's persistent and determined to get there.

As she grows, Saki becomes feisty and rather rambunctious, often rushing to conclusions and making reckless decisions. As she grows stronger, she'll be the one going on ahead and charging into battle when the order is given. Despite that, she's remains a kindhearted, selfless, and honest person. At times, her childish side really shines through as she still, every now and then, still ends up falling over or getting smacked in the face, as clumsy as ever and she's quick to trust others, even blindly at times, showing how naive she can be. She can be rather immature at times, and even stubborn and pouty and can be known for complaining by muttering under her breath. She's supportive and protective of her friends and can be rather fierce when it comes to protecting them.

On the flip side of the coin, she can be rather playful as well, enjoying pointless witty and sarcastic repartee and friendly sparring. She can get quite competitive at times and, again, as she grows more confident, she'll be quicker to show it. She's keen on Though she can be loud and spunky, she's still a fun-loving, and cheerful, yet hardworking and determined person. She hates to be a burden and wants to be someone that others can rely on. Upon feeling stressed and upset, she does a good job at keeping up appearances and hiding her thoughts and feelings away. She often wanders off without telling anyone when she want to "wallow in self-pity", as she likes to put it.

 **Appearance:** Standing at 5'2" and 110 lbs, Saki has a slender and petite build with a lean muscle buildup (that really shows after training), her breasts barely making a B-cup. She has a pretty, yet child-like face, as many have commented on, and smoky reddish-brown eyes. She has a fair, bordering pale, skin tone and medium-long, dark brown hair that she has in a peculiar style. She has her hair rather messy and pulled into a messy ponytail off the left side of her head and has a her hair flowing down freely on the right. She keeps her hair tied with with a small lavender ribbon. She has several tufts of hair sticking out and a major cowlick at the back of her head as well.

 **Aspirations** :  
Her goals are pretty simple:  
Become someone that others can rely on and become strong. She hasn't really put much thought on what she'll do once she gets there, but she's sure she'll find something to devote herself to...

 **Likes** : She's a big fan of sweets and pastries, she enjoys the summer and having time off from having to go out on outings, enjoys working out to keep her mind off of things, chatting and having nonsense conversations about nothing in particular, children (she's got a soft spot for kids), exploring new places, meeting new people

 **Dislikes** : Monsters, drunks, people who start fights for no reason, idiots, being called a child or cute or anything of the sort, being treated like a kid is even worse, selfish people, people who make fun of her goals, bitter tasting things, the cold.

 **Skills** :

Currently, Saki is the youngest member of the Hunter's guild and was allowed in due to her skill with a bow and how excellent she is at tracking. She has acquired several skills that are not usually granted to someone of her age and due to how quickly she caught on, a lot of Hunters view her as a prodigy. However, due to her small size as well as her lack of stamina, she prefers to hide and fire from long range and as a result, has no melee skills.

\- Sharp Sight- A skill that greatly improves a Hunter's accuracy with the bow by increasing visual acuity and perception. As a side effect this skill also makes it easier for hunters to avoid incoming attacks.  
\- Fox Vault- An evasive kukri-based dodge roll skill.  
\- Cobra Shot- A very accurate arrow shot that has an arrow that is laced with cobra venom. The poison is deadly and most smaller enemies quickly suffer its side effects before meeting certain death.

* * *

 **Seraphina Bergström (Knight) [Submitted by Justicez]**

 **Name** : Seraphina Bergström

 **Sex** : Female

 **Age** : 22

 **Class** : Knight

 **Personality** :

Seraphina tends to come off as a sort of motherly figure to others and, with her mature personality as well as her kind and accommodating nature, others tend to come by her seeking advice or seeking a place of solace. When left alone, she tends to brood and worry about all that could happen to those around her, sometimes becoming so lost in her worries that she would begin to cry. In battle, she is a person who analyzes the situation thoroughly and tries her best to keep all enemies within her sight range, not allowing any the opportunity to attack her group. In case of the need to retreat, she ensures that her group is safely away before she follows suit.

To relax after a long day, she tends to find herself picking up some thread and needles and begins to sew. She doesn't know where the impulse to do so comes from, but she finds it relaxing and as a result she tends to make some clothes to which she would sell off at the market. Sometimes, she gets hazy recollection of seeing an old woman in a rocking chair.

 **Appearance** :

Seraphina has a fairly light skin tone. Her hair is a golden blonde and comes down in waves to her chest with some of her bangs partially hiding her right eye. She stands tall at around 5' 9" (175cm) and weighing about 145 pounds with fairly big E cup breasts that she tends to wrap up as people tend to stare too intensely at it causing her no small amount of discomfort. Her eyes are a light grey with facial features that wouldn't look out of place on a lady of high standing in ages past, this combined with her knight armour tends to reinforce that impression. Her build is quite slim but with rather defined muscles which help her handle her handle the rigours of being on the front lines.

As like all other knights, she gets her armour and gear from the Knight Guild which she only wears when she's out on adventures. Her current set consists of a pair of iron pauldrons and a breastplate with an armour plated skirt that comes down to around half way down her thighs and a pair of iron greaves that comes up to her knees. Her under-armour consists of some shorts and a form fitting tank top. She has a leather scabbard around her waist in which holds her current sword, a light iron one-handed sword with a simple crossguard and an iron buckler which she straps to her back when not in use. When adventuring, she ties her hair into a high ponytail so that it doesn't get in her way and distract her.

In more casual or relaxed settings, she would take to wearing some sundresses that she has made in her spare time and during colder weather, she dons a thick coat that comes down to her knees.

To bed, she wears a simple white, nearly translucent nightgown that comes down to her thighs. She removes her binding before she sleeps as wearing the binding all day causes her some discomfort around her chest and needs a light massaging to get rid of the soreness else she will not be able to sleep.

 **Aspirations** :

She hopes to be able to continue to make her way up the hierarchy of the Knight Guild in the hopes of securing a better life for her and those around her. She hopes to find a group that she can call her own with bonds as tight as that of family and with whom she would stand against the world for.

 **Likes** :

-Sewing/Tailoring

-Tea

-Children

-Hugs

-Protecting those around her

-Fresh Pastries

-Listening to Music

-Comforting others

-Baths whether in bath tubs, rivers or hot springs

 **Dislikes** :

-Conflict among others

-Bullies

-Spicy foods

-Failing in her task

-Her chest which draws others' stares

 **Skills** :

Downward Slash : Overhead swing onto a single opponent. Basic skill taught to all knights.

Shield Bash : Throwing one's weight behind their shield, they lash out with their shield and strike an opponent. Due to the inherent toughness of the shield, can cause stunning on targets from having their bodies rattled by the strike from a solid object.

Providence : A battle cry which rallies allies' morale and causes monsters to attack the knight due to the increased perceived threat from the shout.

 **(Later skills)**

Shield Stance : The knight shifts into a more defensive stance which uses one's energy to reinforce their armour so that enemies attacks will bounce off the shield with the potential for the opponents to hit themselves from the resulting bounce. Knight's attack power lowers as a result of the concentration required in this stance. Similar to warrior's "Steel Guard" skill.

 **Relationships** :

 **Takashi Yun** : At the start, she treats him with some measure of caution due to his seriousness and rock solid determination in doing things no matter how dangerous, but eventually comes to see him as a dependable ally in battle and a treasured member of her "Family" in how he looks after those close to him.

 **Masha Bobrov** : Seraphina enjoys watching Masha perform and bring joy to others around her and considers her a good friend with whom she can trust. Due to Masha's nature of getting into trouble, she often has to step in and bail her out of the mess. She doesn't really mind Masha's excessive touchiness, and from all that she sees of her friend's personality, has developed some measure of feelings for the bard, but is a bit afraid of expressing it as she is a fair few years older.

* * *

 **Nozomi Ran (Priest) [Submitted by AltariaMotives]**

 **Name** : Nozomi "Mana" Ran

 **Sex** : Female

 **Age** : 15

 **Class** : Priest

 **Personality** :

Nozomi isn't exactly the kindest or the gentlest of priests - in fact, she's quite the opposite of what you'd expect. She's rash, reckless, and rude, and to make matters worse, she's not one known for tact or being reserved either. She's quick to make blunt and brutally honest comments on her comrades and complain. Shes got a rather morbid and sadistic sense of humour and a sharp tongue to boot. She's proud and determined to demonstrate her worth worth to the party and because of that, she's quick to grow angry at herself when she fails to do something or has trouble with tasks. Though she may be somewhat harsh towards those around her, she's harshest on herself. She's tough and resilient, and can be rather intimidating for such a small girl. Unknown to her, she actually was a delinquent who was arrested and charged with mandatory community service, which in the end, changed her.

Though, now stuck in the life-and-death world of Grimgar, she's reverted back to her old self again. She still retains an immense interest in healing and apothecary. With all that said, it isn't as though she's a terrible person. Yeah, she can be immature, stubborn as a mule, and rude, but she has a soft side. Especially with children. And though it may be hard to earn her respect and friendship, she's more than willing to stick her neck out and look out for her party. She sticks around and jumps in whenever someone needs a helping hand. She is capable of honesty and showing vulnerability, though she's afraid of opening up. She isn't sure who these people are and she isn't sure if she can trust them or if they understand the gravity of their situation or anything at all. She isn't even sure why or how any of this happening. She's confused and some emotional scars, despite not knowing how she got them, remain with her in Grimgar. She can be hard to get along with, but once she gets to know the others and starts to trust them, she'll begin to open up and her rude and frigid attitude might begin to melt into a more teasing and playful person who's quick to defend her own kindness and pretend it never happened. And she's quick to get flustered when trying to show gratitude or e's a kind and hardworking girl at heart, it just takes some time getting there. She gets excited and a little giddy when she makes progress and is always eager to try out new spells and concoctions.

 **Appearance** :

Standing at 5'1", Mana has a rather small and skinny frame, but she's stronger than he looks. She's actually fairly well muscle toned under clothes and agile, A cup breasts and weighs in at 118lbs she has a surprisingly childlike face and many might mistake her for someone who's a few years younger. She has a fair complexion and big, bright, emerald-green eyes. She has small facial features and is known for normally wearing an annoyed scowl on her face. She has short, straight brown hair, reaching down to just below he chin, that curls up at the ends. Her bangs are swept out of the way and evenly cut and she has a cowlick of hair sticking out at the back of her head and an "antenna" of hair that curls forward and often gets in her face. She's known to fiddle with it quite a bit. Mana has a few scars and places where stitches were uses at some places on her body, namely her arms and legs (she knew martial arts and was rather skilled in Muay Thai. She obviously doesn't remember learning it, and she's rusty, but she has the muscle memory and a feeling she knows how to fight).

In terms of clothing, she wears a loose-fitting, white and red, long-sleeved shirt-robe that comes halfway down her thighs. She keeps one side tucked into her greyish-brown pants that lead down into leather boots, lace-up that come up to below her knee. She also wears black, fingerless gloves. She wears several leather straps, almost like a chest rig that hold small pouches and a larger pouch goes around her waist, where she keeps several herbs and mixtures. She has a thigh holster/sheath where she keeps a small knife on her right side (the pouch is on her back). She keeps a brown, single-strap bag that she wears across her back. She usually wears beige hood and cloak around herself and carries her staff on her back, perpendicular to her bag.

 **Aspirations** :  
\- She wants to prove her worth to her party and become an accepted member and makes friends  
\- She wants to live a comfortable life in Grimgar

 **Likes** : Kids, sweets, fighting/sparring, being left on her own, peace and quiet, small conversations, apothecary and studying herbs, being of use, reading, exercising/training

 **Dislikes** : Being treated like a child, being treated like she's useless, being useless, being teased, surprises, ghosts and scary stories, spicy food, being told she's a picky eater.

 **Skills** :

Nozomi has the distinction of being one of the youngest Priests in the guild and also one of the few Priests who were able to learn four spells in the period of time she trained. The standard Priest is considered ready for a party upon learning Cure and Heal, but Nozomi has learned a total of four healing spells as opposed to the usual two. As a result, she is considered a prodigy in spells but she ignored most of her actual combat training. As a result, she isn't very skilled with a staff as most Priests are.

\- **Cure** : A light spell that binds small wounds but does not negate the pain that the victim feels.  
\- **Heal** : A spell that does not require the Priest to have their hand near the wound. This can be used from a distance though further distances will drain more stamina.  
\- **Purge** : A spell that is capable of cleansing most forms of poison and can be used as an alternative method for cleaning wounds. Requires a long chant and a staff for channeling.  
\- **Light Of Protection** : A support spell that enhances physical ability, resistance, and speeds up the body's natural healing process. It can be cast on up to six people and lasts for 30 minutes. The hexagon symbol of the God of Light floats over the recipients wrists for the duration of the spell. A noted effect is that the recipients of the spell feel lighter. Nozomi has yet to master this spell and it is a very taxing one. She only uses it in emergencies.

* * *

 **Sasha (Thief) [Submitted by an anonymous reader]**

 **TO BE ADDED LATER**

 **I do apologize if your character did not make the initial cut; a lot of people sent in either Thieves or Hunters and my goal was to complete a balanced party to start out with. Keep watch because your character may make an appearance and perhaps, even stay for an arc.**


	2. Prologue: The Wanderer

**(A/N): Here's a little something to get the ball rolling and to kind of set the tone for the story. The character featured here will be one of the main characters along with everyone who makes the cut. I'll go ahead and throw the character submission template using him as an example for everyone who perhaps needs an idea or anything to follow. Still looking for characters and at the moment, no one has been set in stone but this person here so feel free to send in characters!**

 **Let's get this going now shall we?**

* * *

 _Prologue: The Wanderer_

* * *

 ** _"In fighting and everyday life, you should be determined though calm."_**

 ** _"Meet the situation without tenseness yet not recklessly, you spirit settled yet unbiased."_**

 ** _"An elevated spirit is weak and a low spirit is weak. Do not let the enemy see your spirit"_**

\- Miyamoto Musashi

 **~ o ~**

 _"Aira! Keep Muto covered!"_  
 _"Will do!"_

 _She began to draw the diagram for another fire spell in the air, closing her eyes and focusing her energy._

 _"Make sure she gets that spell off Takashi!"_  
 _"Will do," I replied._

 _I placed my hand on the hilt of my katana before standing in front of her, ready to strike at a moment's notice._

 _"Stand strong! Do not give up!"_

 _A small smile began to form on my face as I looked towards our leader._

 _"Neiro! Behind you!"_

 _He immediately turned around before parrying an oncoming slash from a goblin with his massive sword. He then looked to the other member of our party._

 _"Shiri! You're up!" he shouted._  
 _"Got it!"_

 _She readied an arrow and took careful aim. After a few moments, she let it fly. Much to everyone's surprise, it connected with the goblin's stomach. It screamed in pain and backed away from Neiro. He however did not give it a chance to recover as he swung the blade, landing a devastating blow to the rib cage of the goblin. It flew into a tree due to the tremendous force behind the swing._

 _"Takashi! Now!" shouted Aira._

 _I nodded before closing my eyes and focusing. I could hear the two goblins that were coming towards me and the moment I felt I gathered enough energy within my arms, I opened my eyes and used my thumb to unsheathe my katana._

 _"Panther Fang!" I shouted._

 _I swiftly drew the blade, using the momentum to destroy the two goblin's wooden weapons. Moments after I unleashed my attack, I saw fireballs fly past me and connect with the two goblins. One of them fell to the ground while the other seemed unfazed by it. It must've been resistant to fire magic..._

 _I stood protectively in front of Aira as the goblin drew a dagger from its belt and charged forward. I easily blocked his strike and pushed it away._

 _"Tiger Sweep!"_

 _I quickly sheathed my blade before drawing it out at great speed once again but I aimed for the legs. I unfortunately barely missed; the goblin managed to hop over the swing. I just barely managed to get my sword back to my body to block another dagger attack. An arrow singed through the air and hit it square in the chest. It however refused to give up as it threw it's dagger. It wasn't aiming for me...but for Aira who was now panting after finishing her last spell. I knew she couldn't dodge it in time so I quickly jumped in the way of the projectile. I felt it lodge itself deep within my left shoulder._

 _"Takashi!" shouted Aira._

 _Another arrow struck the goblin before it fell down, unable to move thanks to the arrow going through through it's right leg. I fell to the ground, wincing in pain as blood continued to ooze from my wound._

 _"Damn it...I should've tried to block it with my sword...then again, I'm nowhere near the level of my master who can block several arrows in quick succession with her sheer speed alone..."_

 _I felt a hand grab onto my good shoulder and suddenly, I was hoisted to my feet. It was Muto, who had made his way forward despite Neiro urging him not to expose himself as our Priest._

 _"We've got to get that dagger out before it gets too severe," he said._

 _He looked to Neiro, who was still fighting two other goblins. They were thankfully the only two that remained in the group we found._

 _"Can you handle this Neiro?" he asked._  
 _"No problem, patch him up quickly," he replied confidently._

 _He pulled me behind the stone wall before looking at me._

 _"I have to pull it out before I heal you," he said._

 _I nodded slowly as he did just that, causing me to almost scream in agony. Now was one of those times I was thankful that I had such a high tolerance of pain. He chanted his prayer and it wasn't long before I felt the magic begin to mend the wound. Several seconds later, it was as good as new. I could see however that he was now panting; he had healed Neiro and Shiri earlier and it was about time for him to get a break; he didn't have amazing stamina like the rest of us. The lack of swords clashing however signaled the end of the battle and it took a few moments for the rest of the party to join us. I smiled once I noticed Neiro carrying the earnings for the day, which was enough for us to eat well tonight as well as the bit we needed to get Aira some new robes; her old ones got burned in yesterday's battle and she was forced to wear one of mine._

 _"Good job everyone," said Neiro._

 _He looked at me and nodded gratefully._

 _"You...didn't have to take that dagger Takashi,"_

 _I looked at Aira, who seemed almost terrified._

 _"I didn't think you were going to dodge it in time so I acted quickly," I replied._  
 _"It worked out in the end...but that was reckless of you Takashi," said Muto._

 _I nodded apologetically._

 _"Let's get back to town," said Neiro._

 _Everyone nodded in agreement as we began our journey back._

* * *

I jolted from my slumber, shaking my head vigorously from the dream I just had.

"I take it you're still thinking about them,"

I sighed deeply before turning around.

"...I can't get it out of my mind," I replied.  
"There's nothing that you could've done to prevent it Takashi, you will never be able to move on unless you forgive yourself,"

I knew that she was right, but I still couldn't believe that a day that went so well...suddenly took a turn for the worst.

"If I had been stronger...I may have been able to-"

I felt arms around my head and her bosom against my forehead. She stroked the back of my head.

"You've been dreaming about it all non-stop for the last two weeks...you have to let it go,"  
"...I can't,"

Tears attempted to well within my eyes but due to the training I put myself through for the last two weeks, they never made it all the way through.

"You've been staying with me for the time being because you no longer have a party...but you need to get back out there with a new one; I cannot keep providing for you like this," she urged.

She let go of me as I bowed gratefully.

"Thank you Master Hwei," I said.

She was my mentor and the one who taught me the ways of the Samurai. However, once I lost my party...I began to specialize as a Ronin. I didn't look for another set of people to work with because I still couldn't get over what happened to my friends. Everyone who heard the story said it was not my fault...but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't see it that way.

"Tomorrow, you're going to the inn to see if you can find another party...alright?" she asked.

I nodded.

"I'll try...but I doubt any party would want a failure like me,"

 **~ o ~**

"So you're back out on the streets again eh Yun?"

I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"I understand why...must be tough for you right now,"  
"Thanks for the sentiment," I replied.

He handed me a mug of beer.

"On the house this time," he said.  
"Thanks Bart," I replied.

He smiled at me before looking around.

"I take it that you're now trying to find a party to take some of the pressure off of your master?" he asked.  
"Mainly...but I also think it's time I get back out there again and start making a difference," I replied.

He chuckled but nodded.

"She's told me how much you've improved with your swordplay but at the same time, you need to be careful and not bite off more than you can chew," he warned.

I nodded in agreement.

"This boils down to if a party will allow me in...if not, I'll probably have to start going out alone to at least pay her some rent," I said.  
"As long as you're careful about what you do, I think you'll be fine...now if you'll excuse me, I've got a lot of thirsty customers to take care of,"  
"Thanks for the talk Bart,"

The barkeep smiled at me.

"You're a good kid Takashi...start believing in yourself,"

He walked away as I took a deep breath and began to look around.

 _"Now then...who would be willing to take a Samurai as a member of their party?"_

* * *

 **Short little prologue to introduce the only character I will provide for the cast. He is not the main protagonist but will be a prominent member of the cast, just as everyone else who makes the cut. I'll go ahead and leave the template for the submission down below using him as the example.**

 **Name:** Takashi Yun **  
Age:** 18 **  
Sex:** Male **  
Class:** Samurai

 **Personality:**

Calm, determined and serious. Takashi rarely takes situations likely and is usually the one who doesn't take any sort of nonsense unless in the proper mood. Despite how serious he usually is, he is very kind and will look after the members of his party. He firmly believes that everything can be overcome with effort and courage and one of his most prominent traits is his unbreakable willpower. No matter what happens, he will not give up.

 **Appearance:** Long black hair kept in a loose ponytail with bangs hanging in front. Stands at 5' 8" and weighs 135 pounds. Is not very muscular but has definite tone. He is usually seen wearing the traditional samurai garb, which is either combat armor comprised of chainmail with thick, hard leather plates or his usual samurai robes. He often times chooses the robes due to how heavy the armor is. His robes are black with red markings decorating most of the torso.

 **Aspirations:** Takashi's ultimate goal is to live a comfortable life in the world of Grimgar. At first, it was to ensure the survival of his friends but once the disaster happened, he resolved to never make those mistakes again and now seeks to become as great a warrior as possible in order to protect his friends.

 **Likes:**

\- Spicy Food.  
\- Reading.  
\- Meditating.  
\- Swimming.  
\- Playing Chess.  
\- Training (both exercising and with his sword).

 **Dislikes:**

\- Weakness.  
\- Inconsiderate people.  
\- Excessively sweet food.  
\- Arguments.  
\- Wasting time.

 **Skills:**

 **Panther Fang:** A swift draw of the katana. The skill takes advantage of the added momentum achieved when drawing the blade from its sheath. It is an attack that is meant to catch the opponent off guard and is executed with such speed and force, it often destroys weaker materials such as wood. This skill requires great practice and is considered an intermediate skill for a Samurai.

 **Tiger Sweep:** Using the force from the draw of the katana, the speed of this attack is used to strike vital areas in as little time as possible. It is considered very difficult for a Samurai to pull this move off with great accuracy. It is considered an intermediate skill and is a move that Takashi has yet to master.

 **Sword Flurry:** A swift barrage of katana strikes which is meant to overwhelm the opponent and put them off balance. Considered to be a staple skill that all Samurai are taught at the start of their training. No Samurai is considered ready to be in a party unless he has mastered this move. Considered to be a beginner's skill to learn but a difficult one to completely master due to the speed the attack must be executed.

 **Relationships:**

 **(Insert Character name here)**

(Insert finer details here. Things such as overall relationship and even romantic interest can be noted here as well.)


	3. Chapter One: Duty

**(A/N): I'm glad that you all decided to get involved in this thing and I'm thrilled about all of the attention the story has been getting. The entirety of the final cast hasn't been fully decided yet but for the ones who have been confirmed, congratulations. I'll update the guidelines section with all the characters who made the cut with their profiles fully intact once I get the chance.**

 **This chapter is just one more filler as I wait for the last two slots to be filled up. I decided to extend the party to seven instead of six so at the present moment, we have 2 slots open. One of them however, is required to be a Priest/a viable healing class of your creation. Unfortunate I know, but the slots filled really quickly surprisingly.**

 **Anyway, enough rambling, let's get to it shall we?**

* * *

 _Chapter One: Duty_

* * *

 _ **"But when you think you're safe is precisely when you're the most vulnerable"**_

 _\- Seven Samurai_

* * *

"Did you hear about that group that ventured out into the goblin ruins?"

I raised an eyebrow before listening closer.

"They got desperate and had to go out without a really good fighter apart from their warrior; money was getting too tight,"

My eyes narrowed as I took another gulp of the beer in front of me.

"Good kids too...shame it's gonna go down this way,"

A part of me wanted to ask them if they knew their whereabouts but now that I thought about it, it would be nothing but trouble to rush over to such a dangerous place on my own.

"Excuse me? Is this seat taken?"

I looked up and was astonished at what I saw. Standing before me was a girl, no older than 18 looking down at me...or should I say with her eyes and endowments looking at me.

 _"...She's certainly **blessed** ,"_

She had dark chocolate skin with very long raven hair which for some reason was only flared in front of her right eye. She was standing at about 5' 7" and had hazel eyes. Undoubtedly the most noticeable feature however was her almost absurdly massive bosom. I don't think I have ever seen a girl her age so well endowed and surprisingly well proportioned; her body complimented it nearly perfectly. I noticed however that she was covering herself with a white robe and I could see what appeared to be brown leather straps on her shoulders. Finally, she wore a pair of round glasses.

I cleared my throat before gesturing her to the bench across from me. She smiled and happily took a seat.

"It was difficult to find a seat in here that wasn't taken or had more than seven people sitting at it," she said.  
"No problem," I replied.

She looked at me for a few seconds before noticing my robes. Her expression showed great interest.

"Are you a samurai?" she asked.

I nodded slowly. She squealed for some strange reason.

"Could I see your katana?" she asked.

I looked down at the blade attached to my hip before untying it and placing it on the table. She picked it up and began to examine it.

"This sword looks almost completely mint, how did you get it?" she asked.  
"I keep it maintained; it was my master's until she passed it to me," I replied.

She then eyed me for a few seconds more before gasping.

"You're Takashi Yun?!" she asked.

I raised my eyebrow.

"How do you know my name?" I replied.

She snickered softly.

"Word's getting out that you and Master Hwei are getting intimate," she replied.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head before tying my sword back to my hip.

"When you swear an oath of Bushido, you're required to live with your master...that means nothing should be hidden from either student or master," I explained.  
"Which means you managed to get your hands on those lovely melons of hers right?" she cheered.

I felt heat build in my cheeks but I scoffed and looked away.

"Come on! You mean to tell me that you see those boobs and that body all the time and you've never once copped a feel?" she teased with a wink.  
"I would never defile my master like that," I replied.

She whistled loudly.

"A lot of men are jealous of you...and some women too," she said.  
"Who are you exactly?"

She smiled.

"The name's Masha Bobrov, aspiring Bard at your service," she said with a feigned bow.

I raised my eyebrow.

"You're a part of the Bard's guild?" I asked.  
"Yes indeedy! It's where I learned to play my instruments and how to dance!"  
"Instrument _s_?"  
"I play the lute a lot and I'm currently learning how to play the flute," she replied.

I nodded slowly. Her eyes wandered down to my chest as they widened with even more interest.

"You play an instrument too?"

I pulled out what she was clearly staring at: my shakuhachi.

"It's a shakuhachi," I explained.  
"Well aware of what it is...I just haven't seen one before," she explained.

I placed it back in my robes before taking another gulp of beer.

"So what's it like?" she asked.  
"What do you mean?"  
"Being a samurai,"

I had to pause to gather my thoughts as I formulated a good answer.

"It's a strict lifestyle that forces you to make a lot of sacrifices," I replied.  
"Bushido?"  
"Indeed,"

She seemed almost in awe of the fact that I was able to call myself a follower of the code.

"So I take it that you and her are really close then,"  
"Closest bond I have...since..."

I had no idea why the last word slipped from my tongue and for some reason, my tone became almost saddened. Almost as if it were a trigger, she leaned forward, her expression changed from interested to thoroughly concerned.

"Since what?"

I let out a deep breath.

"Since I lost all of my friends..."

* * *

 **Two Weeks Ago- The Goblin Ruins**

 _"Another job well done everyone," said Neiro._

 _I sheathed my katana before helping up Aira, who had collapsed from exhaustion._

 _"How're you feeling?" I asked.  
"Really tired...but the battle's over now," she replied with a smile.  
"Let's rest up before we make the trip back to town," said Neiro._

 _It took us about thirty minutes to set everything out but we finally took a rest after a long day's work._

 _"How much did we make?" asked Muto.  
_

 _Neiro removed the earnings from each of the necklaces from the six goblins we managed to take down today. For some reason, he smiled._

 _"We finally made enough to buy that small place near the barn," he said.  
"Are you serious?!" gasped Shiri._

 _He nodded solemnly._

 _"Thanks to Aira's friendship with the landlord, we have enough to pay for the first month's rent and if we keep this up with at least half the rate, we should be able to afford a place to stay," he explained.  
"What about your armor? Shouldn't that be a priority?" asked Muto._

 _Neiro shook his head._

 _"The goal of these two weeks worth of work was to get us a place to stay, none of my equipment matters if we don't have a place to rest at the end of the day," he replied._

 _He then looked at me._

 _"Takashi's guild has been gracious to us; the samurai are a really noble bunch who gave us food and provisions for these outings...so we have him to thank for swearing his oaths," he said._

 _I shook my head but everyone still clapped for me._

 _"Your master was also the one who convinced one of the blacksmiths to make me this set of armor in the first place so we really could not have done this without you Takashi...thank you," he said.  
"Glad I could help," I replied._

 _I felt weight on my back with a familiar scent now filling my nostrils._

 _"Thanks for protecting me today Takashi,"_

 _It was Aira._

 _"It's my job," I replied with a smile.  
"Alright everyone, we'll have a nap for about an hour and then we'll head back to town; we managed to clear all of the patrols that Shiri mapped out for us so we should be alright for an hour," explained Neiro._

 _I looked to my bedroll but once I looked around, I noticed that we were short one. It was then that I remembered that Aira's roll was lost; she had to abandon her pack a week ago and we didn't get a chance to go retrieve it. I then got to my feet before picking up my sword._

 _"Aira, take my bedroll, I'll stand watch for a little while," I said.  
"No! You're probably the most exhausted of all of us; you've been fighting all day long without a real break," she said.  
"I'm not letting you sleep on the floor," I retorted._

 _I walked to the opening to the small shelter we made from the ruins before taking a seat, my sword now leaning against my chest. Everyone else decided to take their rest, especially Muto who had expended most of his energy with his healing. I removed my shakuhachi from my robes and started to play a soft melody. It was something I had grown accustomed to doing for them because it always helped them fall asleep. It took a few minutes but they all finally appeared to be asleep. I placed the instrument back into my robes but before I could turn back to my watch, I felt arms around my neck._

 _"Why are you so selfless?"  
"It's the code I live by now,"  
_

 _Aira shook her head._

 _"You've always been this kind to us, even before you swore your oath,"  
"Because all of you are important to me...and if I can help all of you, I'll do whatever it takes," I replied._

 _Much to my surprise, she kissed my cheek._

 _"You're such a goody two shoes Takashi," she teased._

 _I felt heat rush to my cheeks but I shrugged._

 _"Do you think we can finally make a life for ourselves now?" I asked.  
"Why do you ask?"_

 _I cleared my throat._

 _"Since the day we decided to go on our first outing in Grimgar, we always tried to be extra careful with our approach because a lot of us were too pure and innocent to have the instinct to kill...Neiro and I were the only ones who were really capable of it and I still don't understand why that is,"  
"Maybe it's somewhere in your memories?"_

 _I nodded slowly._

 _"That's possible,"  
"And if it wasn't for you and Neiro, we probably wouldn't have been able to actually become a party that works cohesively; Neiro's a great leader and you were the one who provided a lot of what we're using now because your guild was kind to us," she said.  
_

 _I sighed deeply but nodded; she was right._

 _"I don't think we would've survived this long without the two of you...so let me thank you for everything you've done," she said.  
"You're welcome,"_

 _I smiled and allowed her to deepen her embrace._

 _"Even though you've done all of this for us...you still seem unhappy," she began.  
"...I guess I just wish I remembered more about myself...having habits I can't quite piece together or interests that I can't really trace to a root or even the skill to play this flute without remembering how I learned the songs I know,"  
"So your past is important to you?"  
"Very much so,"_

 _She smiled._

 _"I'll see if there's anything I can learn from my guild that will help us unlock our memories," she said.  
"...Isn't that impossible?"  
"Only one way to find out,"_

 _I smiled at her._

 _"I'd appreciate that...a lot," I said._

 _For some strange reason, I began to notice her in much greater detail. Her green eyes somehow became emerald. Her somehow flawless face was suddenly a lot more beautiful and her smile was particularly pristine. It was strange...but for some reason I liked it._

 _The next thing I knew, I felt warmth on my lips._

 ** _"She...she's kissing me?..."_**

 _As quick as the contact came, it faded away._

 _"Consider that a thank you for blocking that arrow with your arm," she said with a wink._

* * *

 **Present Time**

"That's one of the cutest things I've ever heard!" squealed Masha.

My eyes narrowed.

"...I failed them,"

She looked at me in disbelief.

"What do you mean you failed them?"  
"I believed we were safe...so I went back inside and took a nap with her in my arms,"  
"How does that mean you failed?"  
"Because when I woke up...the goblins had already returned and Neiro was badly injured fighting them,"

Masha covered her mouth in shock.

"...I fought as hard as I could but I couldn't save him...by the time we drove them back the first time, there was nothing Muto could do to repair all of that damage...so Neiro entrusted all that we earned to me," I continued.  
"So where are the rest of your friends?"  
"...Dead,"

I felt tears trying to push their way forward but after having deadened my emotions with all of the training I put myself through, it was easy to keep it away.

"We couldn't hold back the second group of goblins...Shiri tried to distract them but she was overwhelmed even though she used all of the traps she set ahead of time,"  
"Oh my..."  
"It was just Aira, Muto and I left...and I had injured myself trying to protect them," I continued.

My hand automatically went to the necklace around my neck, gripping the coins on it.

"Muto expended every last bit of his energy to heal me while Aira managed to cause a distraction by creating an inferno with a fireball spell...but Muto couldn't run anymore so he was beaten to death just beyond the flames," I said.

My thoughts then went back to Aira, as her last words replayed in my head.

"By the Bushido code, that situation would've called for me to commit _seppuku_ because when we are overwhelmed and our deaths were inevitable, we are to uphold that tenet else we disgrace our way of life...but Aira didn't let me,"

I swallowed hard.

"She told me that I needed to carry on...that they would live on through me so her last effort was to destroy the stone bridge we managed to get across...it's the reason why everyone's been taking the mainland route to the ruins instead of the river,"  
"She destroyed the bridge?"  
"Along with herself to give me a second chance...it's a day that haunts me even to this very moment,"

Masha got to her feet before sitting next to me in the booth. Before I could even utter a word, she grabbed me in an embrace.

"She loved you...she knew that you would've blamed yourself for all of what happened to them so she gave you the chance to protect everyone else you meet," she said.  
"I...I should've-"  
"You couldn't have known that was going to happen...yes you wanted to keep watch but you were happy, you were so happy that you had accomplished something great so you went to take a well deserved break...you can't blame yourself for that because you're not a god, you're human," she explained.

I closed my eyes, struggling to keep the tears back but as if I were now completely at ease, I let them flow. She stroked the back of my head slowly and after a few moments, I was able to regain my composure.

"Let's go," she said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"  
"Those people caught in the ruins need our help...I don't want to hear anything about another group of people getting slaughtered by those goblins," she said.  
"But...how are we going to get there without a full party?"  
"I know some shortcuts...but we better get there quickly if we're going to help them,"

She extended a hand to me.

"Who knows, they might even accept us; we're both looking for a party so why not take a chance and see if this could be it," she said.

For some reason, I felt confident in her words. I took her hand.

"Let's get going,"

* * *

 **Made a small update to the guidelines; missed a few details with one of the classes that I actually think could change the game entirely.**

 **Still waiting on a few more submissions before we really get this show on the road.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **~ Letters**


	4. Chapter Two: Saving Grace

**(A/N): So we've gotten our main cast sorted out. All further characters who have been submitted will appear in arcs as needed and substitutions (should any of the main cast die or leave for a period of time) will be decided a bit later so if you character did not make the cut in the guidelines section, rest assured that you can still be involved in this story.**

 **For now, let's get to the exciting part. It was difficult to determine everything due to how random the characters were (in terms of their age and such) but I finally got it all figured out.**

 **Let's get going.**

* * *

 _Chapter Two: Saving Grace_

* * *

 _ **"What lies behind us and what lies before us is little compared to what lies within us"**_

* * *

"So...Takashi?"

He looked back at me, still following the path that I told him about just a moment ago. He looked rather determined before but once he turned to me, his eyes were filled with curiosity.

"What is it?" he asked.  
"I...wanted to apologize about what I said about you and Master Hwei," I replied.

He shook his head.

"Think nothing of it; she and I are used to getting comments like that and we both know the truth," he replied.

It amazed me as to how difficult it was to bother this man. Most people would've been very flustered or at least, angry that rumors like these are spreading around the place but he seemed...indifferent. A moment later, it suddenly began to feel rather warm.

"Can we stop for a moment?" I asked.  
"Sure,"

He stopped walked before sitting by a tree. I took the opportunity to remove that accursed white robe that I was given at the inn. Evidently, it bothered him slightly as he looked away and I could've sworn I saw a blush on his face.

"What are you doing?!" he asked.  
"Removing that annoying robe that the inn forces me to wear," I replied.  
"Why?!"  
"I'm a naturist...whatever that is,"

I had no idea where exactly he pulled it from but he threw a large shirt at me.

"Put that on after we rescue these people...there isn't much left to the imagination with what you're wearing,"

I honestly had no idea what he was talking about; it was completely normal for me to wear such little clothing because I didn't see what was wrong with being naked. I knew that I needed some level of protection, which was why I had my leather gloves, boots and harness. Evidently, it was distracting.

"Is it too distracting?" I asked.

He didn't answer, he simply looked away and kept silent. I sighed before reaching into my bag and pulling out my green mantle. I made sure it was covering as much of my skin as I could before I cleared my throat.

"I don't typically wear this...but I guess I'll do so for now," I said.

Takashi rose to his feet, the blush now completely gone with his face now serious.

"Did you hear that?" he said.

I shook my head, completely confused as to what he was talking about.

"I hear...swords clanging," he said.

He looked to me and nodded.

"They can't be far, let's go," he said.

He grabbed my hand and we broke off into a sprint.

* * *

 **"SERA! BEHIND YOU!"**

She turned around almost instantly and managed to block the oncoming club swing from the hobgoblin. I closed my eyes and began to draw the diagram for another spell.

"Stand strong everyone! We're almost through this!" she shouted.

I finally finished drawing it as I focused my energy.

"Sirocco!"

A hot gush of air erupted from the drawing as I called upon the power of the fire elemental, Alev again. The spell had the exact effect I was hoping it would; it blew right into the hobgoblin's face, greatly disorienting him and leaving scorch marks on his cheeks. That gave Sera the opening I knew she needed.

"Shield Bash!"

She swung her iron buckler with great force and managed to strike the hobgoblin directly in the sternum, causing it to fly a short distance and into a wall.

"Now Saki!" shouted Sera.  
"Cobra Shot!"

An arrow flew through the air before burying itself into the stomach of the hobgoblin. Because I knew what the skill did, I didn't worry about it getting up; Cobra Shot was a powerful skill that had a very potent poison tipped on the arrow. Considering how long it took for her to line that shot up, it was a good thing that Sera was such a strong knight, else she would never have gotten the time to aim and fire.

 **"ERIKA! WATCH OUT!"**

I turned around but was immediately met with the force of a club to my stomach. I felt my body launch into the air and I looked down to see another hobgoblin, staring up at me with an evil smile. I was completely helpless as I watched the ground get closer and closer until I felt those horrible scaly hands grab onto my neck. The hobgoblin proceeded to throw me off the ledge. I looked below to see that there was nothing but sharp rocks below me. I closed my eyes, awaiting my inevitable death.

 _"We should've been more economical...but we didn't have a completely balanced party...we lack a Priest and Saki was the only one who could contribute any real damage...we should've known better than to do this...I can only hope that they can escape on their own because...it doesn't look like I'll be coming out of this alive,"_

The air rushed into my face but suddenly, my body completely lost its momentum and strong arms caught me. The moment I felt land again, I opened my eyes...to see a man.

He was looking at me with deep concern and judging from his robes and the katana on his waist, he was a member of the samurai. He had long black hair that was tied behind his head with bangs flaring out in front of his forehead. He had deep green eyes, almost emerald in color as well as sharp facial features. I may even go as far as to say that he was handsome. The loud thud on the ground broke me from my admiration as the hobgoblin roared loudly. The man set me down on the ground before standing in front of me. He unsheathed his katana but for some strange reason, he held it in a reverse grip.

 _"What kind of swordsman is he...I've never seen something like this before,"_

The hobgoblin charged at him but he didn't even appear fazed. He skillfully dodged its blows, not letting a single one even come close to hitting him as he zipped from side to side. His footwork was incredible; he didn't waste a movement though for some reason, he wasn't fighting back with any attacks of his own. He continued to dodge the monster for at least a minute until it stopped to catch its breath. He then retaliated with swift slashes, peppering it with cuts and lacerations with that sword of his. It still amazed me that he was able to wield a full length katana in a single hand in that stance. He must've been training for a while to have that level of strength despite not looking muscular at all. He stopped his assault once the goblin got back to its feet but when it tried to move, it slipped and fell. It was then that I realized what he was doing: he was wearing it down so that it couldn't make a move to finish me. The dodging was to take advantage of its short tempered nature and that got it to put all of its focus on him as opposed to me.

 _"...Impressive,"_

He then for some reason, sheathed his blade before taking a stance, his right hand hovering over the hilt as his eyes locked onto his enemy.

 _"I've heard of this...this is a battojutsu stance...a stance that a swordsman takes when he is using techniques that require the blade to be drawn...to take advantage of the extra momentum,"_

The goblin got to its feet and charged once more.

"Shatterfang," he said.

I don't know how precisely how fast he drew his blade but not even two blinks of my eyes passed before I saw his sword go from the sheath to above his head. A mere moment passed before he turned around and sheathed the blade before making a hand sign in front of his face and closing his eyes. Another moment passed before I saw a gash that stretched the length of the hobgoblin's body and a spray of red appear. The creature fell to the ground, now dead. He proceeded to remove the necklace from its neck before approaching me and offering a hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

His voice was... _gentle_. It actually puzzled me as to how someone could sound so concerned after having fought like that. I didn't take his hand, getting to my feet and brushing the dirt off of me.

"I'm fine, thank you really," I said.

He retracted his hand before nodding.

"Let's get back to your comrades," he said.  
"How do you propose we do that? We fell quite a distance," I replied.

He wordlessly pointed to a set of vines that lead up to the ledge.

"Get on my back and I'll get us both up there," he said.

I raised my eyebrow.

"You're that strong? I'm not exactly light,"  
"Do you want to save your comrades or not?"

I sighed softly before getting on his back.

"Fine,"

I had no idea why I was blushing slightly, maybe it was because this stranger picked me up twice within the ten minutes I've met him or maybe it was because I wasn't used to being the one in distress. Whatever the case, he began to climb the vines with surprising speed.

 _"I guess those samurai really do train their students to be among the best of warriors,"_

* * *

 _"That...was so exhausting..."_

I dropped my shield, still panting and amazed that we actually managed to defeat them all.

"Are you alright?"

I looked up to see that woman who had appeared out of seemingly nowhere.

"I wasn't able to do much in the way of fighting...so I used my magic to make you stronger," she said.

I smiled at took her hand.

"We appreciate your help," I said with a grateful smile.  
"We'd better get the rest of your group somewhere safe; those goblins are never without a pack for long," she said.

I nodded before approaching Saki, who was laying on the floor.

"You okay?" I asked.  
"...It hurts Sera..."

I felt a chill go down my spine as I turned her over to see a large gash on her stomach. I cursed under my breath.

"I should've been more aware of it all...I didn't know they made it up to the ledge to get at you,"  
"The hobgoblins threw the smaller ones...I couldn't react in time..."

The woman approached us before taking out her lute.

"What're you doing?"  
"Easing her pain,"

She began to play a rather calming melody.

"This should ease it until we can get first aid done...my friend should be back any minute now with your mage," she said.  
"You had a friend? How did he save her?! I saw her fall off the ledge,"

The woman smiled.

"Takky's a strong man, I'm sure she's alright in his hands,"  
"Masha, how's everyone looking?"

As if on cue, a deep voice broke my gaze from my fallen comrade. Much to my astonishment, he was carrying Erika on his back and looking at where they were walking from, he must've climbed the two of them up those vines.

"She needs medical attention," she said.

The man lowered Erika to the ground before running over and examining the wound.

"I can patch her up which will hopefully buy her enough time to make it back to town...we need to move because the sun is going down and those goblins are far more equipped for a night fight than we are," he explained.

He took his bag from Masha's back and removed some bandages and some kind of green liquid.

"What is that?" I asked.  
"An anti coagulant which will stop the bleeding for a few hours...but we need to hurry back,"

He looked to Masha.

"Finish your song; it'll be painful if she's awake to feel this," he said.

The woman continued to play her lute. Saki looked at me, fear clear in her eyes but I held her hand.

"They're gonna take care of you...just go to sleep," I urged.

It took several moments, but she finally closed her eyes and was now sound asleep.

"Good job Masha; I wasn't sure if I made the right call by going off to save the mage and leaving you on your own," said the man.

She smiled and shook her head.

"I'm sure that I would've slowed you down...besides, this knight here is unbelievably strong,"

The man looked at me.

"I take it she played another one of her songs...fills you with a sense of courage and the will to fight on right?" he asked.

I nodded slowly, wondering just how he knew what she did.

"Bards are known for their inspiring music so I'm glad she's here," he said.

He applied the liquid to Saki's wound before looking at me.

"Remove her tunic and apply these, then I suggest you pack up so we can get out of here; those goblins won't be long with reinforcements," he said.

I nodded before looking to Erika. She seemed quite astonished, though only in her eyes and not so much her facial expression.

"Get the bags, I'll loot the bodies," I said.

She looked at me for a brief moment before nodding and running off.

"Masha, keep an eye on the Hunter, I'll stand watch," he said.  
"No problem Takky!" she replied with a giggle.

He looked at me before looking to the ledge above him. Much to my surprise, he skillfully leaped on several large boulders before making it to the ledge with almost no trouble.

"He's really quick on his feet; he's not the typical samurai who acts like a less sturdy Warrior," explained Masha.  
"...He's strong,"  
"No, he's very determined and he's trained so intensely, it amazes me that survived it all,"

Her face seemed concerned for a moment but the smile returned quickly. I ran off to collect the coins off of the dead goblins.

* * *

 **Later That Night- Master Hwei's Home**

"I can't thank you enough for your kindness," I said with a solemn bow.  
"It's no trouble; the samurai are good friends with the Knight's Guild and seeing as Trisha is out of town, I am usually the one who handles all medical emergencies that magic can't quite fix," replied Master Hwei.

I looked towards the room where Saki was sleeping.

"She will be fine if she gets some rest...I have a contact who knows a Priest who can come to ensure that there is no scar in the morning,"  
"Thank you so much,"

I bowed again but she placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Takashi just couldn't resist the urge to help could he?" she asked with a smile.  
"He and his companion are the only reason we made it out alive," I explained.  
"He was a reckless fighting that hobgoblin on his own,"

I noticed that Erika had chosen now to interject but Hwei simply smiled.

"I know he can do that; I trained him after all," she said.

I raised an eyebrow.

"This sounds like a whole new level of training," I said.  
"The only trainers who are more intense than I am are the Sword Dancers; a lot of the training that Samurai undergo is meant to test their commitment to Bushido...Takashi is the only one who successfully made it through all of the trials without faltering,"

I looked at her in disbelief.

"What do you mean without faltering?"  
"Ever since he lost his friends, he came back with the intent to complete his training so that he could become a better warrior...I put him through some of the most grueling trials I've ever set upon my students and he is the only one to have survived it all without coming close to death," she explained.

The door opened and Takashi stepped inside before allowing Masha in as well.

"I'm very sorry about having them come here Master...I did not mean to force them upon you," he said.

He had gotten down on his knees and was bowing even more solemnly than I was. Much to my surprise, Hwei laughed softly.

"You don't have to show me the formality you always do,"

He got back to his feet before she walked up to him and examined him.

"You didn't get hit by that hobgoblin?"  
"The technique you taught me last week was what won the day," he replied.

She smiled proudly.

"I'm impressed that you were able to use it after such little training with it,"  
"I practice it every day I leave the dojo,"

She flicked him in the forehead.

"You need to get another life besides the training you put yourself through," she said rolling her eyes.

He blinked twice before looking to Masha.

"Aren't your companions looking for you?" he asked.

She laughed nervously.

"I'm afraid I don't have a party...and I kind of don't have a home either," she said.

Takashi slapped his forehead and sighed.

"We have a home,"

I have no idea why it suddenly blurted out from my mouth.

"Do you? Where is it?" asked Hwei.  
"It's the small building across from the farm," I replied.

She smiled at me.

"So you must be the kids that Trisha was talking about, which means that you are Seraphina Bergstrom," she said.

I had no idea how she was so well informed. Almost immediately, I saw Takashi bow to me.

"I've heard a lot about your exploits in the Knight's Guild, it is an honor to meet you," he said.

I shook my head.

"No formality needed...but after all you've done for us, the least we can do is offer you a place to stay," I said.

Masha cleared the distance between us and grabbed me in a hug.

"Thank you so much!" she squealed.

It was then that I noticed how...blessed she was. It took a lot of effort to keep my composure but she thankfully released me before I needed to push her off.

"I'll send Takashi over with your friend in the morning, the Priest will meet you there by about midday," said Hwei.

I smiled and bowed.

"Thank you for all your help Master Hwei,"  
"You're most welcome,"

She then turned to Takashi.

"Would you escort these ladies home?" she asked.  
"Of course,"

He opened the door before gesturing us to leave. Erika, Masha and I took our leave as he followed behind us.

 **...**

"I almost forgot, these belong to you,"

Takashi handed Seraphina the necklace he collected from the hobgoblin he slew earlier.

"But...you're the one who killed it, you deserve it," she replied.  
"All of you exhausted it...you earned it just as much as I did,"

It was a silver coin around its neck, a healthy amount for a single kill. He placed it in her hand before looking to Masha.

"What are you going to do about your lack of a party?" he asked.

She laughed nervously again.

"I haven't really given much thought to it; I've just been performing on the streets to keep a little income flowing since I can't exactly go out there and fight monsters," she explained.

He looked away and sighed.

"It's difficult to not be in a party in these times; minstrel services can't fund rent," he said.  
"You could join ours," I suggested.

They both looked at me in amazement.

"I mean...we aren't exactly balanced because we unfortunately do not have someone capable of healing but you're more than welcome to join us," she said.

Masha once again caught her in a hug as Takashi smiled.

"A generous offer," he said.  
"How so? Don't you prefer living with your master?"  
"I feel as if I burden her too much sometimes...leaving the dojo would ease a lot of that because she doesn't have to worry about me," he explained.

He removed the necklace around his neck and handed it to Seraphina.

"Consider this my contribution to the rent for this month," he said.

He turned to leave.

"I'll be back early in the morning," he said.  
"Good night Takky!"

Masha released Sera before jumping on Takashi's back. Everyone could see the slight irritation in his posture but he didn't say a word as he hugged her back.

"Have a good night ladies,"

He walked away.

"He's pretty cool," said Masha.  
"Impressive indeed,"  
"He's alright I suppose," said Erika.

The mage made her way inside of the building. Masha then looked at Seraphina.

"What's her deal?" she asked.  
"It's difficult to fish a compliment out of her mouth but she means well," she replied.

With a nonchalant shrug, they made their way inside for a well earned night's sleep.


	5. Chapter Three: Prodigies

_Chapter Three: Prodigies_

* * *

 ** _"I can do things you cannot"_**

 ** _"You can do things I cannot"_**

 ** _"Together, we can do great things"_**

 _\- Mother Theresa_

* * *

"Good morning everyone!"

I felt my jaw drop open and I had to mentally slap myself to ensure that I wasn't dreaming.

"I figured that I'd do the cooking this morning since all of you are no doubt still exhausted from yesterday," said Masha.

It wasn't the fact that she was awake before sunrise that astonished me...but what she was wearing. She clearly came prepared with that bag of hers because she was now wearing a rather...tight apron. There was enough skin showing to leave just about nothing to the imagination and what shocked me more was the fact that she didn't seem at all fazed by it.

"W-W-Why are you wearing that?!" stuttered Erika.  
"What? My apron? This is what I usually wear when I'm cooking at the guild," she said.

I cleared my throat nervously before looking around.

"Has Takashi arrived yet?"  
"Not yet, he should be here any minute; it's pretty early after all,"

Not even thirty seconds passed before I heard a knock on the door. I opened it to see Takashi carrying Saki on his back with another girl next to him.

Standing at about 5'1", she had a rather small and skinny frame. She has a surprisingly childlike face She has a fair complexion and big, bright, emerald-green eyes. She also had small facial features but for some reason, she seemed annoyed with the scowl on her face making it obvious. She had short, straight brown hair, reaching down to just below her chin which curled up at the ends. Her bangs were swept out of the way, evenly cut and she also sported a cowlick of hair sticking out at the back of her head with an "antenna" of hair that curled forward. She was a rather hardy looking Priest...if there was such a thing.

In terms of clothing, she wore a loose-fitting, white and red, long-sleeved shirt-robe that went halfway down her thighs. She kept one side tucked into her greyish-brown pants that lead down into leather boots which laced up to just below her knee. She also wore black, fingerless gloves. Several leather straps were bound together, almost like a chest rig that held a few small pouches and a larger pouch around her waist. From the looks of it, it was used to store herbs. She had a thigh sheath where there was a small knife on her right side. She also kept a brown, single-strap bag across her back. Her staff was also on her back.

 _"Guess she's very prepared,"_

"Good morning," said Takashi.  
"Slept well I hope?" I replied.

He smiled before carrying Saki into the house. I then looked to the Priest, who looked back at me with an almost completely blank face.

"Were her injuries severe?" I asked.  
"Nothing that a few healing spells didn't solve, but she's lucky that the samurai had that anti-coagulant; it saved her life,"

I nodded gratefully.

"Thank you for saving her life," I said.  
"You three were reckless idiots to have gone out there without someone who specializes in healing,"

Her voice suddenly turned venomous.

"We didn't have a choice; we had no money to pay for the rent and we would've had to sleep on the streets unless we made something happen," I replied.  
"Desperation doesn't give you a right to be stupid, go to the inn and look for a Priest before you go on a suicide mission,"

Her face was still completely blank as she stepped past me.

"What's your name?"  
"Nozomi Ran,"

* * *

 **Later That Evening**

"So everything's been settled?" asked Saki.  
"I have no problem joining you...but I'm not interested in listening to a poor leader so don't bother not making plans that make sense," replied Nozomi.

Seraphina sighed softly before turning to Takashi, who was staring out the window.

"You don't have any objections?" she asked.  
"Nozomi's got a heart of ice but she's well versed in healing spells for someone her age so I'd definitely have her on my side," he replied.

Masha smiled.

"Welcome to the group!" she cheered.

Nozomi made a sound half way between a scoff and a grunt before turning away.

"I'll meet all of you at the river in the morning,"

She left the house.

"So we finally got a Priest on our side," said Erika.  
"Don't like her personality much but I guess it's better than nothing," replied Saki.

Another knock on the door broke the party from their conversation. Masha got to her feet and approached the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.  
"Someone interested in joining up with you all,"

It was a man's voice. She opened the door to see

* * *

"Masha's a damn good cook," said Sasha.  
"Thank you!" she replied with a smile.

Seraphina cleared her throat.

"So I figured it'd be a good idea to have some introductions; we're going to be a party so we'd might as well get to know each other right?" she replied.  
"I'm guessing the ice witch that just left the house is the Priest of the group?" asked Sasha.

He got a collective murmur in response.

"Not the friendliest of people but she definitely knows her stuff," replied Saki.

Seraphina looked to Erika.

"Why don't we start with you?" she asked.

The mage seemed almost annoyed but she cleared her throat and stood up.

"My name is Erika,"

She was a natural beauty. A refined face with a sharp look to it, as if she were some kind of noble or person of authority though betrayed by her fully black hair with red flashes that reached her back and her amber eyes. As the group quickly learned, she usually had a very neutral expression which tended to become a combination of annoyance and a '' _the devil may care_ '' expression.

Her body was also quite glamorous, sporting D-cup breasts and standing relatively tall for a woman at 6'1''. Though she wasn't as curvy as Masha, she was nevertheless pleasing to the eye, a fact that her companions were fully aware of. To combat this, she usually wore long robes of varying, usually darker, colors that cover up to her knees when going out as a mage and baggy clothes whenever she puts on something more casual to go out or just be comfortable. She even went so far as to buy a featureless mask with engravings to put on her face.

Despite having such beautiful features, she wasn't one to particularly care about how she looked so most of the time her hair is disheveled and she looks like she just crawled out of bed, with the worst of it being obvious when she has actually just crawled out of bed.

"A mage...any particular schools that you practice more than others?" asked Sasha.  
"Fire's always been the element I've had most interest in," she replied.  
"Sounds like fun, so how'd you meet this knight and hunter?" asked Masha.  
"Seraphina and I were friends since the day we arrived to Grimgar...though I don't know any kind of context, she just had that sense of familiarity about her," she replied.

Knowing that there wasn't much more that she could actually say, Seraphina turned to Takashi, who was staring out a window.

"What about you samurai?" she began.

He turned back to face the group before rising to his feet and bowing respectfully.

"My name is Takashi Yun,"

The samurai had long black hair kept in a loose ponytail with bangs hanging in front. Standing at 6 feet tall, he wasn't very muscular but had definite tone which was made evident in how solid his arms looked. He had deep green eyes and sharp facial features. He once again donned his robes, though this time he was wearing a more casual one that was dark grey in color as opposed to the usual black. He did not tie his sword to his waist this time and was instead carrying it by hand. It was a full length katana but looked practically in mint condition. The sheath wasn't anything different from the standard katana's apart from the red cloth that was wrapped all the way down the length of it. The hilt however, was beautifully decorated with gold embroidered thread creating dragon marks over the primarily black background.

"That's a nice looking sword you have there," said Seraphina.

Masha laughed softly and cut him a devious look.

"Yes it is," she growled.

Her comment didn't seem to faze the samurai as he looked down at it.

"It belonged to my master, she gave it to me once I completed my training," he explained.  
"That's Hwei's sword?" asked Erika raising an eyebrow.

He nodded.

"I still don't think I'm worthy of using this...but she insisted that I was,"  
"Your skills are impressive for someone who hasn't been training very long," interjected Erika.

He looked at her for a brief moment, her face not offering any form of emotion though her words clearly showed that she at least acknowledged his skill.

"Yeah! You saved her from a hobgoblin didn't you?!" cheered Masha.  
"You fought a _hobgoblin_ by yourself and _won_?!" gasped Sasha.

Takashi shook his head.

"It was already worn out from fighting beforehand...I only finished it off,"

He sat back down, glancing briefly at Erika before returning his attention to the sky outside.

"Alright, how about you little Hunter?" said Sasha.

She got to her feet and pointed at herself almost eagerly.

"Name's Saki Hikari!"

She stood at 5'2" and had a slender and petite build with a lean muscle buildup, no doubt due to the intense training that a Hunter had to go through before being allowed to join a party. Her breasts, unlike most of the party, were quite small, barely making it to a B-cup. She easily looked the youngest out of everyone present, sporting a pretty, yet child-like face and smoky reddish-brown eyes. She had a fair, bordering pale, skin tone and medium-long, dark brown hair that she had in a rather messy messy ponytail off the left side of her head while the other side flowed down freely on the right. She kept her hair tied with with a small lavender ribbon and to top it all off, she had several tufts of hair sticking out and a major cowlick at the back of her head.

She wore the typical Hunter's garb, composed of leather armor that covered enough of her skin to protect most of the vital areas. However, she opted to use a slightly larger bow than the standard one, evidently favoring the emphasis on long range rather than mid. She also carried two daggers as opposed to the usual one.

"I'm guessing you wanted to be a part of the archer's guild but you much preferred the hunter's way of life?" asked Sasha.  
"Learning how to track and all of the stuff on the flora and fauna was loads of fun," she replied.

Takashi turned back, evidently interested in what she was saying.

"You're aware of how to make herbal remedies?" he asked.  
"A few of them yes," she replied.

He nodded.

"I may ask you for some lessons...I'm not a fan of the bitter concoctions that my master gives to her students sometimes," he said.

She laughed nervously and smiled.

"I'm not the best at it but I'll see what I can pass on," she replied.

A loud knock broke the group from their conversation. Erika got to her feet and went to the door...to see a man wearing black armor with red trimmings.

"Is Takashi Yun here?" he asked.

Erika didn't even get to turn around before Takashi answered, somehow appearing behind her as if he followed her all along.

"What is it Rendo?" he asked.  
"The guild has summoned us and I was sent to find you,"  
"Do you know what it's about?" replied Takashi.  
"It's about the exhibition we will be putting on a week from now," he replied.

He nodded slowly.

"What is this about an exhibition?" asked Erika.  
"It's an event that the samurai put on monthly to entertain the public as well as to determine who will ascend the ranks of the guild," replied Rendo.

She looked at Takashi in confusion.

"It's a tournament that has all of the samurai competing to see where they stand against each other...I have to go," he explained.

He turned back to the group.

"I'll meet you all here in the morning," he said.

With a respectful nod to Erika, he made his way outside.

* * *

"What a day...can't believe we finally managed to get a party together," said Saki.

I nodded slowly in agreement.

"It's a bit larger than the standard one but definitely functional...we just have to hope that we can work cohesively together," said Seraphina.

I yawned lazily and got into my bed.

"You were a bit less cold today Erika," said Saki.

I rolled my eyes and turned away.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied.  
"You typically have a problem with others coming into our house but you let all of them in without a hassle,"  
"Because if I didn't, we might be forced into a situation like we were yesterday and we likely wouldn't have gotten lucky to have two people save us in the nick of time," I replied.

I had no idea why my voice got so icy but she didn't seem at all fazed by it.

"If we're going to work together, you can't treat them as if they're aliens Erika," said Seraphina.  
"And since when were you the boss of me?"  
"I'm not telling you to do anything, it's just food for thought,"

The knight turned her back and let out a deep breath.

"I understand that you have your own problems but these people have been good to us, they saved our lives when they had absolutely no reason to and showing a little gratitude and a bit more cooperation will go a long way,"

I looked at Saki to see that she was nodding in agreement.

"Masha's been really helpful because I wasn't sure how much more I could stand trying to cook with such limited resources...but she finds a way to make something great every time," she said.

I sighed deeply before shrugging.

"As long as they don't give me a reason to be annoyed at them, they won't have a problem with me,"

With that, I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off to sleep.


	6. Chapter Four: Dedication

_Chapter Four: Dedication_

* * *

 ** _"Coming together is a beginning"_**

 ** _"Keeping together is progress"_**

 ** _"Working together is success"_**

 _\- Henry Ford_

* * *

"They're not far ahead, three hundred meters at most," said Saki.

Seraphina nodded before turning to the rest of the group.

"Just as we discussed," she said.

Sasha nodded before following Saki up the ledge in front of them.

"Do you think she's right when she said there were a lot of them?" asked Masha.  
"In all the time I've spent with Saki, she's never been wrong about the monsters she tracks so I'd expect the worst," replied Seraphina.

She then turned to Nozomi and Erika.

"We didn't get a chance to run through all the spells that we have access to so I'm going to trust your judgement for this fight," she said.

Both of the casters nodded, though Nozomi's was a more nonchalant one. She then turned to Takashi.

"I doubt I will be able to hold off all of them on my own, are you sure you'll be fine on your own over there?" she asked.  
"I'll do my part so long as things go according to plan, if they don't, I'll improvise," he replied.

She then looked at Masha, who seemed almost excited.

"What's got you in such high spirits?" she asked.  
"Excited that I finally get to see everyone in action; I've heard a lot about all of you on the streets after all," she replied.

Seraphina shrugged.

"It's nothing special when you spend most of your time hunting down goblins," she said.

She looked up and saw the smoke signal.

"That's our cue, good luck everyone and stay safe," she said.

"Magic Missile!"

A salvo of light projectiles, each the size of about two fists materialized from the diagram Erika drew in the air. She then extended her palm, causing all five of the missiles to launch at their intended target. Immediately, Seraphina rolled to the right to get out of the way of the attack. Their tactic worked; the goblin that had sprung onto the knight was hit by all five of the projectiles, causing it to stumble back into the wall behind it. Immediately, Saki let an arrow loose, embedding it in the chest of the creature.

"Nice shot!" commended Seraphina.  
"Behind you Sera!" she shouted.

The knight turned around and just barely got her shield up in time to block a blow from a hobgoblin that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. With a tremendous cry, Seraphina managed to shove the massive creature off of her.

"Let him have it!" she shouted.

Saki immediately loaded another arrow before taking careful aim. At the same time, Sasha leaped from the ledge beside her, both his daggers ready for his attack. Saki let the arrow go and not even a second after it connected with the creature's leg, Sasha managed to sink both his daggers into its back. It roared in pain and tried to grab him but he quickly ducked under its hands, using his weight to deepen the wound. Seraphina saw her opening and swung her sword with great force, managing to open a large gash in its chest. However, she did not anticipate the creature to immediately swing it's massive right fist at her. She did not get her shield up in time to block this time and was sent flying through a stone wall. She tried to get to her feet but the pain from the blow was too great for her to even think of standing again.

"No Sera!" shouted Masha.

She knew that there was nothing the Bard could do for her; her spells had already been used earlier in the battle and she needed time to recover her strength. She tried to raise her shield to block the next attack from the hobgoblin, who had thrown Sasha off of its back and into Erika. Before anyone could even blink, the sound of a sword leaving its sheath filled the air and the next thing they knew, the hobgoblin's club was now sliced in two. Takashi had appeared seemingly out of nowhere and now stood protectively in front of the knight. As if on cue, Nozomi made her way to the downed warrior before beginning to chant her prayer. The goblin tried to follow them but Takashi got in its way, his sword ready to strike from a battojutsu stance.

"Panther Fang!"

The sword left it's sheath so fast, no one saw it move until after it made it's trip, leaving a huge gash in the creature's stomach. However, everyone noticed that Takashi didn't recover as he usually did and much to everyone's surprise, he collapsed to his knees, dropping the sword altogether. His blow however was a fatal one; the hobgoblin fell to the ground and ceased all its movement. Nozomi immediately made her way to the fallen warrior before examining him.

"...When was he hit with this?!"

She removed a dart from his stomach before taking a sniff.

"Some kind of poison," she said.

The group gathered around him as Saki took the dart from her and took a whiff herself.

"Felshroom poison with some other modifications of the goblin sort...the fungus secretes a poison that is designed to completely incapacitate the victim so right now, his body is probably completely numb and it's exhausting to even have a thought run through his head,"

Sera sighed deeply.

"Is he going to die?" she asked.  
"No...but he won't be able to move until the poison passes through his system which could take days; it's very difficult for the body to excrete it," explained Saki.

Nozomi shook her head.

"I'll cure it right now," she said.

She closed her eyes and held her hand over him before chanting the prayer. Bright light enveloped his body and after a few moments, it faded. For some reason however, he still wasn't moving.

"What? That should've purged it from his system," she said in disbelief.  
"Felshroom poison is notoriously difficult to cure even from an alchemist's standpoint...makes sense that a Purge spell isn't powerful enough to do the job," replied Saki.  
"I regret not learning the more powerful version...it was too expensive,"

Sera sheathed his blade before looking at Masha.

"Did we make enough money for the day?" she asked.  
"I'll gather it all up right now to check,"

The Bard zipped off to do as she said.

"We can't afford to fight without him in form so we're going to have to stop for the day...though I'm not sure how we'll be able to take care of him," she said.  
"What do you mean?" asked Erika.  
"The Knight's Guild is holding a mandatory meeting in two hours so I had hoped we would be able to finish early today," she explained.

Saki sighed as well.

"I promised my master that I'd go with him to the other side of town to choose a wolf pup to take as my own...that could take hours," she explained.  
"I also have to be at a meeting at the Priest's Guild because today is the day that I'm supposed to show my skills off to the elders," said Nozomi.

Erika began to notice that everyone would be absent except for her; she had nothing to do because she wasn't at all interested in the festive event the Mage's guild was hosting tonight. As if on cue, Masha returned with several necklaces in her hand.

"We made more than we thought we would because both hobgoblins were carrying two silvers each," she said.

Sera smiled brightly.

"That's wonderful news...but what do we do with Takashi?"

Everyone looked down to the motionless samurai.

"I'll take care of him," said Masha.

* * *

"What the hell do you mean you have something to do now?" I growled.

Masha shook her head and sighed before placing her hands on my shoulders.

"Old Gus needs me; The Bard's Guild is doing a benefit for some of the more well-off members of the town, and he's calling us all in, I need you to take care of Takkun for me, okay, Eri?" she asked.

Half of me wanted to smack her in the face for suddenly dropping this responsibility on me.

"Listen carefully, here's what I need you to do," she began.

I could tell immediately that about 90% of what she was going to say was utter garbage and just the typical perverted "Masha-ness" as I had learned to call it. I hadn't a clue how a girl could be so oblivious to the fact that others were actually capable of feeling embarrassed but considering how much we bonded for the past week, some part of me actually wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Wear as little as possible, underwear or an apron at maximum and you could make some soup; he's actually awake but he still can't even begin to move his body," she continued.

 _"Wear as little as possible...typical innocent yet perverted Bard,"_

"I'll leave Old Gus's recipe on the counter for you and we should have some ingredients in the cold cellar and pantry, when he's conscious enough, spoon feed him like your lov-I mean, like a baby,"

 _"What...did she just try to say?"_

At this point, her words actually began to amuse me but I kept the emotionless scowl on my face to pretend as if I were serious.

"If he gets too sweaty, sponge bathe him. I left a bucket of water and a sponge in the bath...if he gets too cold, take off whatever you're wearing, climb in bed with him, and use your booby-I mean, your body heat,"

The voice within me was laughing almost hysterically at this point. What kind of ideas did this girl come up with during the days to take care of us if we were sick. Granted, she was very well known for her nursing skills and her ability to just overall make people feel better...but this was just preposterous.

"If he's well enough to talk, for Skulhei's sake, talk to him. Let him know you're there for him and that you'll take care of him, ask him about his day or anything. Got it? I need you to do this. I'll be at the grand hall in the string section, but I'll hurry back as fast as I can,"

The speed at which she was speaking was almost comical.

"Alright, I'll do what I can," I said.

She smiled at me before giving me a bag.

"Saki said that I should read these books to know how to counteract any after effects of the poison...but I guess you'll be in a much better position to read it than I will," she said.

I nodded slowly as she grabbed her lute and turned to the door.

"I'll be back soon!"

The door slamming indicated that she was gone as I let out a deep sigh.

 _"Of course I'd be the one getting stuck with this job...but after all he's done for me, the least I can do is make sure he's still breathing,"_

I approached the door before taking out one of the books.

 _"The Flora Of Grimgar And How To Deal With Them...sounds like some kind of amateur wrote this,"_

I entered the room to see that he was still in the same position: laying on his back with his eyes closed and not a single part of his body moving with the exception of the rise and fall of his chest. I sat down in the chair next to him before beginning to read the book, looking for Felshrooms specifically.

 _"A fungus that secretes a toxin capable of completely paralyzed any who ingest it...the fungus uses this toxin in order to trap predators in place to allow its spores to burst and then spread onto its skin...thus allowing the reproductive cycle to repeat,"_

My eyes hovered over the section that listed its effects.

 _"In addition to causing complete paralysis of the victim's body, severe cases have been reported that have the victim's bone and muscular structure weakened, making it difficult for any sort of physical activity...Felshroom poison is notorious for its difficult to heal, even by the standards of the Priest's Guild of Grimgar,"_

I looked at him, now very concerned.

 _"If he has such a case...he won't be able to compete effectively at the tournament...and we don't have the money to allow Nozomi to afford the skill training for the advanced version of Purge...what're we going to do?"_

I tried to shake the thoughts from my mind; other people's business was never usually my concern. Ever since I arrived to this place, I've tried to keep to myself but for some reason, Seraphina was able to sway me to her cause. She encouraged me more and more to open up to others but for some reason, I just couldn't bring myself to trust them. None of them had a reason to betray me, but I suppose when you're thrown into world with no explanation, or recollection of who you were beforehand...maybe it wasn't so strange for me to be this cautious and cold to others.

The week passing by allowed me to learn so much about everyone. For the most part, all of them were good to me. Though we only got to see the thief about twice due to how hectic of a training schedule Barbara made for him, he seemed like your average nice guy who like Takashi for some reason, was completely immune to Masha's advances. There were numerous times that Masha would walk into the room completely naked and Sasha would simply look at her and shrug. Takashi somehow always had a random shirt to throw in her face, as if he pulled it out from another dimension or something. Overall, he was helpful but I suppose it was a difficult time for him to commit considering how much work Barbara always seemed to have for him. Perhaps it was some kind of trial to prove his worth as a thief?

As far as companions go, the one I got along with the best was undoubtedly Seraphina but I suppose that was mostly due to her uncanny ability to inspire others. A lot of people would say it's because she's a Knight but at the same time, she herself was such a kindhearted person. She always looked out for Saki and I during the time we had together and she was the one who would get in harms way to protect us both. We initially started out trying to lure a single goblin at a time in order to take it down one at a time but because of how inefficient that was, she opted to lure a small group, relying completely on Saki and I to kill them with our arrows and spells respectively. It worked...but there was always the risk of her getting injured which would result in us being unable to do anything until she got better. We had a lot of talks about what we would do once we got the money...and we worked our asses off to ensure that we made it this far. She welcomed all the help we could get and as much as I hated to admit it, I was hoping for the help as well.

Saki was a reliable hunter and she had excellent accuracy considering her age and training time but she was only one person. Because she relies on her bow so much, a lot of my time was spent trying to keep her safe whenever Sera couldn't spare the effort. It wasn't until we met the others that I was truly able to cut loose. Nozomi was undoubtedly a skilled healer but because she rushed her training, she suffered the same weakness as Saki in that her melee ability just wasn't up to scratch. She talked about getting better with it given more time but for the most part, I still had to watch out for all of them. Then...there was the samurai.

He annoyed me to no end at times with his unbreakable determination. I had no idea if it was because he was just that stubborn or if it was a result of his training. I knew that the samurai, especially Master Hwei, took the tenets of Bushido seriously and considering all of the effort that Takashi puts into mastering his technique and protecting us, it wouldn't surprise me if he was their top student overall. He was easily the most skilled swordsman I had ever seen and more and more, he continued to surprise me with his skill. He wasn't by any means a master, but for someone who has been training for barely two months, he definitely made a lot of progress. Hell, he saved my life the first day I met him. At first, I though it was out of pity but then I learned how seriously he took his training and then, how deeply he was rooted in his beliefs. He had the heart to give us all of the loot that we earned for that day despite him having to intervene and he never asked for something in return. A fact that both amazed and irritated me.

Amazed me because it was rare to find such a selfless person and irritating because no matter what, I would always feel I owe him one. Even today, he sacrificed his body to protect one of us and here I was, watching his sleeping form as he recovered from that poison. I didn't really get a chance to sit and talk with him since we started this party thing but he always took the time to check if I was alright. He always examined and personally took care of my wounds if Nozomi was too tired to deal with them herself and he for some reason, always seemed to have an interesting book for me to read. I guess he was beginning to rub off on me...even though he was so annoying with his almost obsessive work ethic.

"...Where am I?"

I snapped from my thoughts and looked to see that he had opened his eyes.

"You collapsed because you were hit with a dart full of Felshroom poison...the others went to attend to some business for their respective guilds and they left me here to look after you," I explained.

He nodded slowly.

"I'm sorry for being so careless; I'm sure there's a thousand other things you'd rather be doing right now,"  
"Not at all; the reading is interesting and it's the least I can do considering how many times you've gone out of your way to protect me," I replied.

He looked away from me and let out a sigh.

"It's my job to do so,"  
"Not many men out there would work as hard as you do when it comes to doing their part,"

He looked back at me for a moment, his deep green eyes scanning my own for a moment before he looked at the book I had in my hand.

"You've been reading all of these?" he asked.  
"I just got started with this one; Masha left all of these for me to look at should anything arise,"

He nodded slowly and smiled slightly.

"Thank you,"

His voice suddenly changed from worried and concerned to calm and for some reason...happy.

"Are you going to tell me why you've been pushing yourself so hard this past week? I know the Samurai are a serious bunch but you've taken it to a whole new level," I asked.

He was quiet for a few moments before he finally took a breath.

"My master's birthday is the same day as the tournament...I wanted to get enough money to get her something nice from the Knight's Guild shop," he replied.

My eyes widened.

"You risked your life, sacrificed so much of your body and worked so hard to get her a present?!" I asked in disbelief.  
"After all she's done for me, no amount of sacrifice is too much,"

 _"...Incredible...I can't believe that he was doing all of this for someone else...most men when they pick up momentum, greed begins to take hold but this man? He was doing this for someone else...and now that I think about it, he's never spent a single copper on himself; he took his share and stored it in a satchel instead of going to improve himself or even learn new skills...he's truly something else,"_

"I was blessed enough to be accepted by the legendary Hwei Nasura...everything that I've learned and my very survival has been thanks to her so I'm going to continue working until I feel like I've repaid even a small portion of what she's done for me,"

I shut the book, suddenly remembered some rumors that I heard at the inn this week.

"I want to know something...she's not particularly coveted among the Samurai, is there a reason why?" I asked.

He looked as if he was hesitating to think of the answer but after another few moments, he let out a deep sigh before sitting up and reaching for his sword.

"There are a total of nine samurai masters in Grimgar, which we always refer to formally as sensei," he explained.

He then raised his two hands, holding up eight fingers.

"The first eight masters each represent a tenet of Bushido and each master takes that particular tenet seriously above the others,"

He took another breath.

" _Gi, yū, jin, rei, makoto, meiyo, chugi, jisei_ are the tenets that all samurai are taught in their basic training," he explained.

 _"Righteousness, Courage, Benevolence, Respect, Sincerity, Honor, Loyalty and Self-Control...now I understand why he almost never thinks of himself, most of those tenets require a man to put them above himself,"_

"Hwei however...was unique, she chose to teach all the tenets equally which was thought to be heresy; no samurai can truly master all aspects of the training because the training for each tenet is so immensely difficult to endure," he continued.  
"What do you mean training?"  
"It is not just physical training that we endure on a day to day basis...each tenet requires the mental fortitude to uphold them no matter what, having the mindset to follow a single tenet means that training can be completed sooner and hence, more Samurai can be available to the parties of Grimgar but Hwei...she does not believe in skipping any aspect,"

I nodded slowly in comprehension.

"She's frowned upon because she doesn't adhere to the format that the rest of the masters do?" I asked.  
"In addition to that...the style of swordsmanship that she teaches is the reverse grip style, meaning that she does not follow the typical two handed techniques that most samurai are taught; she only taught me two handed techniques because she believed I was a natural with Battojutsu," he continued.  
"You mean techniques that focus on the drawing of the sword?"

He nodded.

"My training was in other words, very unorthodox and it's for that very reason why she isn't considered a prominent master, even though she's the most skilled of them all,"

I looked at him in confusion.

"How do you know she is?"  
"Because she's dueled every other master at least once and defeated them, **handily** ,"

I put a hand to my chin.

"Why doesn't every samurai try to get her to teach them?"  
"Because she's **extremely** picky about who she takes as her students...I'm one of only three students she's ever taught and one of those students did not survive the training,"

I nodded once more.

"What happened to the other survivor?" I asked.  
"No one knows where he went, I'm assuming he traveled somewhere far away or perhaps he perished in battle and no one has heard of it," he replied.

I looked at his sword for a moment.

"May I look at it?" I asked.  
"Go ahead,"

I picked it up before unsheathing it.

 _"The blade...it's almost as if it was never used..."_

"You keep the blade in such good condition yourself?" I asked.  
"I paid a lot of money for a blacksmith to teach me how to maintain a blade; I just couldn't allow that sword to be in less than mint condition," he explained.

The blade was spotless, almost as if it was just taken off the anvil. The hilt was only slightly worn, no doubt due to the tremendous amount of stress he's put it through for the past week but I'm almost positive that he would find a way to restore it if it got too worn. It was a beautiful sword, evidently even more beautiful because Hwei used to use it herself.

"...You're a noble man Takashi,"

He looked at me as if I were insane.

"This past week has taught me a lot about you all...but now I think I've finally gotten an understanding of why you're the man you are,"

He smiled slightly and nodded.

"We've barely learned anything about you...apart from Seraphina and Saki, no one knows much about you...but today has taught me a great deal,"

I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What do you mean?"  
"You'll see soon enough,"

For some reason, I couldn't help but crack a smile.

"We'll all be there you know,"

He looked at me as if in confusion.

"We'll be there rooting for you during that tournament...just do your best and I'm sure you'll make it to the end," I continued.

He smiled at me, this time a truly genuine one.

"I appreciate that,"


End file.
